Truth and Mischief
by Cinderfire16
Summary: Tony's secrets are slipping out one by one… and the rest of the Avengers want to know exactly what they are. (AU in which Loki and Tony are brothers-in-arms and their lives fall apart on the daily... but the team doesn't exactly know that part.)
1. Post-battle

**Hi everyone! This is my first official Avengrs story and I hope I can do everyone justice. It took a lot for me to even think about putting this story up because there are so many what-ifs and I really didn't want to mess this up. So... here I go? **

**Chapter One: Direct Aftermath**

_They'd been celebrating. He'd allowed his employees to leave a few hours earlier than usual because he was going to be busy with the final preparations for Stark Tower. He personally didn't see the need for another building with his name on it. He had too many already. (Then again. not all of them were available to the public.) There was also the fact that Pepper had put a lot into the building. It had been her masterpiece and he wasn't going to begrudge her that. There was also the fact that he didn't have a place in the city (that anyone knew of) and hey, why not? He could always use more business. It's not like he'd have anything to lose from it. _

"_Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D is on the line." JARVIS had to go and put a damper on the fact that he was cutting loose and enjoying a quiet night with his CEO/newly-christened girlfriend, Pepper Potts. _

_He shot her a panicked glance and she gave him a reluctant nod. She knew it was important, but did this really have to happen now? _

"_Leave a message." Tony groused. He didn't like when Fury went back on his word. Spy or not, he'd specifically told the one-eyed menace of a Director that he was not to be disturbed unless it was of the utmost importance. And to send this particular Agent when he knew, __**he knew**__-!_

"_He insists that it's urgent."_

"_Then leave it urgently!" Tony rolled his eyes. _

"_Sir-!" _

_The elevator pinged and out stepped Agent Phil Coulson. _

"Tony?" Cap's worried face was a few inches too close to his own and were it not for the man's natural reflexes then one of them would have a nasty bump when he jerked into awareness.

"What the hell?!" He rasped.

The Hulk's hangover-worthy roar did no help for his weary state.

"What just happened?" He demanded. "Please tell me nobody kissed me!"

Captain America rose to his feet and nodded.

"We won." He confirmed. Iron Man sighed and closed his eyes, allowing the relief to wash over him.

"Alright, guys. We did it! Hey, let's just not come in tomorrow, yeah? Let's just take a day. Anyone ever heard of shawarma? There's a shawarma joint a few blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I wanna try it." Cap snorted and Thor chuckled. Their comrade had the strangest tastes.

"We're not finished yet." His ex-assistant's partner muttered darkly, jerking his head up to the battle-worn Tower. He literally just got done building the thing not even a week ago. Pepper was going to be furious when she got back.

"And then shawarma after." He amended. There were some questions he needed answered.

The others were shocked at his sudden movements because they gaped openly as he took off for what used to be the living room. They would have to make their own way.

_After Credits Shawarma Scene! (for those of you who might not know, Marvel is known for their post-credit stuff and you can miss something super important if you don't stay! So... how'd I do? _


	2. Confrontations

**WARNING: MILD CURSING. Just wanted to let you all know so there wouldn't be any complaints. I don't curse in real life but when it comes to stories I let my imagination run wild. I can't be the only one. Thank you to those who have followed and favorited. I would appreciate an opinion here and there but It's not really required. Enjoy the story!**

_Loki walks in, holding the scepter. Tony lopes in like he owns the place (which he does because duh, Stark Tower.!) and makes a beeline for the bar. _

"_Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." That's when he definitely knew. "Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you." _

"_You should have left your armor on for that." _

"_Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?" _

"_Stalling me won't change anything." He was gloating. Really?! _

"_No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one." _

"_The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" Oh, the evil monologue thing! Like he's never heard that one before. Let's see where this goes… "The Avengers." Bet you didn't see us coming, did you?_

"_It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. _EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES_ type of thing. "_

"_Yes, I've met them." Tony grinned. This idiot hasn't seen anything yet. _

"_Yeah, took us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one." He paused, allowing the Loki-wannabe to take it all in. Now it's his turn to monologue. At least he knows how to make up a speech on the spot._

"_But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." _

"_That was the plan." _

"_Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you. He made sure to put on the bracelets he recently made to call the armor just in case. _

"_I have an army." _

"_We have a HULK."_

"_I thought the beast had wandered off." _

"_You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."_

* * *

The words he'd said earlier thundered in his mind but he shoved them back. There were other things to attend to (because Tony Stark didn't worry about anything or anyone he didn't see as important. They were just words, after all.)

Instead, he focused on the problem that unfolded before him.

"This place has been standing what, a week?"

"Give or take a few days."

"Damn. You've really outdone yourself this time."

"It was so not my fault! I swear by… by… Pepper!"

"You'd swear on the life of your CEO?"

"Considering that next to you she's all I've got, yeah."

"You cease to amaze me, old friend. Is there any particular reason the place looks like it's been through Helheim and back?"

"Several, actually."

"Will I get to know these reasons?"

"Wait for it." Tony offered as the rest of the Avengers trickled into the broken living room.

"Okay, what is going on?!" Clint demanded as The Imposter (as he so creatively dubbed the asshole) let out a groan of despair and clambered to his feet.

"If it's all the same to you," It groaned painfully. "I'll have that drink now."  
Loki rolled his eyes.

"Can I kill the bastard yet?!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?!" The former prince demanded.

"Because I said so. Trust me, Lokes. It's not worth it."

Tony twitched his left hand and Loki hit the floor just as the doppelganger towered over the place he was with a snarl plastered on its face. The armored Avenger took the opportunity to test his throwing skills and was glad to say he was true to his mark. The thing went down with a thud as Loki scrabbled to right himself.

"You're rusty, old friend. That'll have to change."

"I sense a fair amount of pain in my future."

"You'll live, you've made it this far."

"That's not reassuring at all."

"Too bad, Anthony."

It took him five seconds to realize that Loki and the Imposter were gone.  
"Damn it, I hate when he's right."

**Questions, comments, confusion? Review please!**


	3. Half-truths and Confusion All Around

_**Thank you all so much for your reviews and follows and favorites. It's nice to know that people are interested in my stories. Most of the confusion I've gotten from people revolved around who was speaking when. Usually the characters will come up at the beginning before a conversation. If there's just five minutes of straight dialogue i do my best to break it up with gestures or something that will tell the reader who is talking. Please continue to let me know if I'm not. (This has not been beta'd.) Thank you! -Cinderfire**_

Tony ended up attending the debrief set for the next day via threats from the deadly Black Widow. He pretended to quake in his boots but on the inside, he wasn't all that worried. He'd just have to stay far away from those thighs of hers. They were her signature deathtrap.

"…Where's Phil?" Loki's questioning demand drifted to his ears.

"Agent Coulson is no longer in our service." Fury's sharpened voice caused Tony to freeze.

"You're lying, Director. You would do well to remember who I am. Where is Phil?"

"That's classified. He really did die though, and he is still indisposed. As of right now, he is not qualified to be in our service. If he wakes up-."

"When."

"If he wakes up, he will be re-instated as the Avengers' handler and you can nag him all you want."

"He better wake up, Nicholas."

"Go find Tony. We're due for a debrief about the battle and I would like it to happen sometime this century."

Tony rolled his eyes and walked on, hoping to catch up with the others.

* * *

"Anthony!" He was a few feet away from the rest of the Avengers when Loki caught up to him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony?"

"You know why I don't and besides, I'm not your father."

"Which is precisely why I ask." Tony groused.

"You'd think after all this time you'd get over it. I take it you heard Fury?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony muttered.

"Don't bullshit me, Anthony. I know it was you. Do your friends know anything?"

"Take a good look at exactly who they are, Lokes. I guarantee you know at least three of them. If you don't, for shame, Loki, for shame."

Loki's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Anthony,"

"Yes, Loki?"

"I know I was out of focus at the Tower but can you please explain to me why Thor is on Earth?"

"Apparently the fake you had a major impact on Asgard. Say, did you kill the guy?"

"I just made sure that Fury knew what was going on. I wanted to, though. I really did."

"Bad idea."

"Everyone says that but no one ever tells me why."

"Habeas Corpus." Tony offered. Loki flashed his friend an annoyed look.

"They don't need the body to be alive. They need to know that the God of Mischief wasn't around to fuck shit up like I normally do."

"You're not thinking straight, old friend."

"Brother…" Thor looked so heartbrokenly confused. It was kind of sad, Loki thought.

"Hi, Thor."

"I demand to know what is going on." Thor groused.

"There's plenty that's going on. Heimdall can tell you that. The real question is what you want me to tell you."

"Have you ever been to Jotunheim?"

"What would I want with the Frost Giants? Although my guess is that Odin has ostracized them to the point of pure hatred, has he not?"

"It would seem that way."

"Did you know that his mother is a Frost Giant? Lady Bestia?"

"No, I did not." Thor growled. "I will have words with Father when we return to Asgard." Loki snorted. "Don't get all charged up over me. Let Odin go back to rebuilding his kingdom and let the Asgardians keep their peace of mind for a while longer. I will come if I am needed."

"But you are innocent!" Thor insisted. "Why would you not prove yourself so where no one can object?"

"I've been proving myself for long enough, Thor. Let Asgard have her peace. If Odin wants me back he can come get himself. Besides, I have too much to lose here. I can't just pack up and leave."

"And why not?"

Loki flinched involuntarily and Tony tightened his grip on the former god's shoulder.

"That is a story for another day. We are here. Anthony-." Tony nodded.

"I'll get Fury to lay off. He has me if he needs anything important."

"I haven't said anything."

"You didn't need to."

Loki stared at Tony and the engineer rolled his eyes.

"You're not a machine."

"No one else gets special treatment," He offered.

"Yeah, well if I see more agents coming in like they've met their maker then I'll be sure to lodge a formal complaint to Fury."

"Like hell you will. Farewell, Thor. Send Mother my love, and tell Odin that Asgard shouldn't need me for a while and I shall laugh if they do. He'll know what I mean."

Thor enveloped his younger brother in a bone-crushing hug.

"I could barely survive your hugs on Asgard. Now I am lucky if I have any bones left!" Loki rasped out."

"I will miss you, Brother. I will tell the others of your feats… and I hope you find who you seek."

* * *

"Where's your evil twin?"

"Loki is indisposed, sir. If you need anything I will have to suffice." Tony informed the director and Fury let out what, for normal people, would have been a sigh.

"You'll have me, Nick. Let that be enough. If I hear that anyone has disturbed him then I'll have your other eye."

"His personal life should not affect his ability to do his job."

"You have me."

"The Avengers are not part of SHIELD."

"You'll just have to do without, then. Loki shouldn't be disturbed."

"I need my people-!"

Tony's eyes flashed blue and he cut Fury off.

"I can guarantee that if I see another agent walking around like a zombie, I will send them off as well!" He growled. "I understand that you run a tight ship but the last thing you need is some sleep-deprived agent's mistake bringing S.H.I.E.L.D to its knees."

"I'll consider it, Mr. Stark. If we could get back to the matter at hand?"

The meeting was wrapped up and everyone was allowed to go their separate ways. Tony drove Bruce to the airport and spent half the ride trying to convince his fellow scientist not to go back to Bumfuck, Nowhere and failing miserably. Bruce Banner was dead-set on getting as far away from civilization as possible and there was nothing he could do but wait for the man to come to his senses. Well, he always had Loki. The Hawk and the Spider had disappeared shortly after the meeting but Tony presumed that they'd gone back to SHIELD's base in the city to receive their orders. Cap had gone on his cross-country trip "to see what's changed" and the engineer had a feeling that he wouldn't like most of it. Thor had taken Loki (the imposter, not his Loki, never again.) back to Asgard, where Tony hoped they would figure out that there was actually a traitor in their midst. The likelihood was not high but the Asgardians weren't completely dumb… he hoped.

That left Tony alone to confront Loki and find out just what the heck was going on because none of this made any sense, damn it!

_**I reference some things, like the part about all the Frost Giants (and future information that may or may not regard Loki's message to Odin) from my brief knowledge of Norse Mythology. Any questions, comments, long rants on what you think should oe will happen next? Review!**_


	4. Pepper's Arrival

_**Hello to all my lovely readers! Cinderfire is back with another update. Thanks for all your support and I hope you continue to enjoy my version of Avengers! BTW: I never have and never will own anything remotely related to the Avengers unless it is merchandise purchased of my own volition. Like NORMAL people.**_

"_Levels are holding steady... I think." _

"_Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?" _

"_Well, ha, I really wouldn't know now, would I?" _

"_What do you mean? All this came from you." _

"_No. All this came from that." She informs him, motioning to the energy in his chest plate. _

"_Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself... twelve percent of the credit." _

"_Twelve percent?"_

"_An argument can be made for fifteen". _

"_Twelve percent? For my baby?" _

"_Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."_

"_Oh?"_

"_My private elevator-?" _

"_You mean OUR elevator?" _

"_was teeming with sweaty workmen. I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I? _

"_Not gonna be that subtle." She assures him as she pours the champagne _

"_I'll tell you what. Next building's gonna say Potts on the tower."_

"_On the lease."_

Pepper took one look around the place and decided that she would slap Tony when she saw him. The inventor gulped at his girlfriend's furious expression.  
"What did I do?"

"I haven't said anything yet."

"That's the face you wear when you're out for blood. Specifically mine."

"Did you wreck the Tower on purpose?"

"Of course not!" He insisted. "Those stupid aliens decided that my place would be perfect for whatever fucked up scheme they had planned."

"Speaking of that, where's Loki?" Pepper wondered aloud.

"He had to straighten some things out. Why?"

"Either he's turned to the Dark Side or he's been framed."

"Second one. You catch on pretty quick."

"I've been known to pay attention when you ramble. Does this have something to do with that thing that happened when I first started working for you and he appeared out of nowhere all shaken?"

"Directly. Don't ask."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Tony risked another look at the fiery redhead. She was clearly still pissed.

She closed the distance between then and his face turned sideways before he could be bothered to react.

"Feel better?" He muttered as he rubbed his now sore jaw.

"Well, at least I know you're not dead."

"I still don't think this is the worst thing you've caught me doing."

"It's getting pretty close."

"He hasn't died." Loki offered. From what she could hear the man was a few feet away from the door.

"Where were you?" Pepper demanded, obviously used to her former employer's best friend popping up at random times.

"Fury sent me on a mission." He informed her.

"I take it the parameters of said mission are classified?" Tony sighed wearily.

"Extremely so."

"I knew he had a reason not to pull you out. I figured that whatever it was you couldn't get out safely and Fury didn't want to risk it."

"I admit that it would have ended disastrously had I been pulled out before the mission was complete."

"You're here now, so that counts for something." Pepper offered.

Loki dipped his head in agreement. Indeed it did.

"What did you do to Fury?" Loki asked. "When I got up some baby agent told me that Fury ordered anyone who hadn't gotten at least eight hours of sleep to find a replacement and get out of his sight. Apparently he muttered something about his left eye."

"Good thing he can follow orders." Tony snorted.

"Tell me you didn't-."

"I did, and I will not have my efforts wasted because you're too stubborn to take a nap. There should be some undamaged rooms around somewhere. Are you busy, by any chance?" He asked Pepper.

"I'm pretty sure I can leave certain things until morning." She offered.

Tony muttered something akin to a prayer. He really needed Pepper tonight.

* * *

"Who are you?" Natasha demands when Loki appears for breakfast. The agent is not surprised, seeing how he and Tony were S.H.I.E.L.D's best-kept secrets. They could walk around in plain daylight and be no one but Tony Stark and his best friend, and that was the way everyone preferred it.

"Officially, I'm on Stark Industries' payroll as one of their inventors. I work alongside Anthony and have met some of the brightest minds in the country. I lack for nothing and anyone who has ever seen me in public can easily identify me as Anthony Stark's pet project."

"Unofficially?"

"Look to your superior for that knowledge. I hold nothing against him if he chooses to divulge what I have shared with him. If not then that is your loss, is it not?"

_**So, am I doing a better job or are you more confused than before? Is there anything you noticed or that just popped out as a random thought? (Am I the only one who has those?) The backstory will develop as the story moves along, so no worries, right? REVIEW PLEASE!**_


	5. What happens in Florida

_**THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR IRON MAN 3! So if you didn't watch that, feel free to skip this chapter because after this, it is never mentioned again (majorly. I might reference his PTSD) This chapter is going to be in snippets partly because it's in Loki;s POV and he isn't really there enough to understand and partly because IM3 disappointed me. Since it's bound to be short, I don't mind posting another one. **_

Loki was on a mission when he saw the news. Tony had gone to Malibu because they couldn't stay in New York. Tony and Pepper had both offered him a place in their homes as they often had before, but he had his own home, however desolate and alone it may be. He wanted to help the City rebuild. That was the li(n)e he fed them and they grudgingly accepted it. Tony knew something was wrong, but he wasn't going to force his brother-in-arms to be somewhere he didn't want to. He knew why Loki preferred the cold, and California wasn't the place for him.

When Pepper called frantically, he did his best to calm her down, praying for all the Norns to hear that the woman couldn't tell he was just as scared. He had to be strong, and he couldn't do that if she knew he wasn't. He told her he couldn't make it because he was searching for his brother, and he was.

Then she got kidnapped by the crazy guy he'd been told about a few weeks ago, Aldrich Killian, he was called. That bastard was going to die a very slow, very painful death. If not by Anthony's hands then by his.

He made it to Florida (why trade one hot place for another?!) just in time to see Pepper fall into the fire, to watch his friend turn away, face full of despair. The last thing Anthony needed was to give up. That would help no one.

He could only grin as Pepper rose from the flames, all fiery skin and blazing attitude. He knew then that his brother would be alright. He decided to go home. Anthony had no need of him. He and the War Machine (he refused to call it that ridiculous name!) could handle everything by themselves. And he still had Pepper. That was always a plus.

They would be just fine.

* * *

"You missed the show." His brother offered when they returned to Stark Tower.

"I did not," He assured the eccentric billionaire. "I simply went unseen."

"Well that was stupid. Why didn't you stop by?"

"You were busy. Extremely so. I take it things are back to normal?"

"As normal as things can be."

"And the Lady Pepper?"

"The doctors were able to fix her."

"Why didn't you let them fix you?"

"Fix what? The giant hole in my chest that would have been completely empty had I taken the damn thing out? No," Tony snorted. "This is just as much part of me as your scars are for you. There is no fixing this."

So as I said earlier, Iron Man 3 left me severely disappointed, especially when my friend (who is a Marvel comic junkie) informed me that the Mandarin was real and basically kicked Tony Stark's butt. I understand why he did it and I'm glad (in a way but only because it shows his growth as a person) but they _obviously_ did not take into account _**the gaping hole and the missing pieces of lung/sternum/ goodness knows what else had to be removed to fit that thing!**_At any rate, here's my solution to all that. He's still on the Avengers and there won't be a battle (for them overall as a team) for some time yet. Review if you like it, review if you don't.

Cinderfire


	6. A Secret Revealed

_**That second chapter I promised.**_

"Agent Stark," Tony's eyes widened at the familiar voice and his head snapped up. So Phil was allowed to be up and around and this is the first place he chooses?

"Did you just call Tony an agent?" Steve asked. The American icon had returned from his road trip with tales to tell and accepted the genius' offer of a place to stay. A house was not a home when there was no one to share it with and Tony, Pepper, and Loki were welcoming enough. Tony had even managed to get Dr. Banner to reside in the giant Tower, a feat on its own.

"I often go by the name Stark, as he was the one to find me." Loki explained. Steve had no idea who Loki was, but the man seemed to have some connection to Tony and surely no one would let him get this close without knowing him. He decided to let it be.

I'm still stuck on the fact that we're talking to a dead man." Clint rasped.

"I'm not!" Tony grinned fiercely. "Chest okay, Agent? Last I checked you had like, the worst stab wound ever. And that's a fucking understatement!"

"What he means to say, Coulson, is that it's good to see you walking around. If I may ask, what exactly happened to you? Fury wouldn't tell me anything and quite frankly, Anthony was annoying about the whole thing."

"That- whatever it was that took your shape stabbed me through the chest. Fury did something to bring me back because I'm pretty sure I died. I'm not so sure I want to know what. At any rate, we need you and Mr. Stark to come in."

"Whatever for?"

"Fury has a mission."

"It's been a long time since Cyclops has needed me for anything."

"I am to assure you that it is worth your time."

"Do you have it with you?"

Phil reached into his jacket and handed them the folder. It was a testament to how much he trusted the man that Tony took the packet and began to skim through. In that moment, Pepper was glad. Trust didn't come easy for him, and a few of the people he did trust ended up betraying him. She hoped that Phil would make a good friend.

Tony yelped and almost dropped the portfolio.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?!" The billionaire whispered. Loki reached for the folder and browsed through its contents. His hand clenched in an instant reflex.

"Were they actually found?"

"They are believed to be among those we will find."

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"Then why would Fury come to me?"

"Director Fury figured that you would want to know."

"How long has this been going on?" He demanded. "And I need to know who else Fury has contacted. Does all of SHIELD know or just the American branch? We may act like we own the world but it's not just our people at risk here."

"All branches have been contacted, Mr. Stark. Fury was of the same state of mind you are now. How far this dates back is undetermined but there is still plenty of potential evidence to go through."

"Who else does Fury have on this?"

"A team of SHIELD agents handpicked by their respective branches has come up with a plan to infiltrate the bases we've found. We have everything we need to go through with this plan, Mr. Stark."

"Then why involve us?" Loki pondered the agent's words and feelings long dormant raced through his veins.

"Don't get your hopes up. We have no idea what we might find."

"I know that I'm going to find my wife and kid, Anthony; whether you're along for the ride is up to you."

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"Tell Fury I'm in; if only to stop this idiot from going in guns blazing and trying to take everything down himself."

"I'll need you to come with me so you can be properly debriefed."

* * *

Tony marches into SHIELD HQ flanked by Coulson (who is in turn flanked by Clint and Natasha) on his right and Loki to his left. For some odd reason that not even the best of SHIELD can fathom, his eyes are red and his expression like ice. Fury takes one look at him and realizes that he is no longer doing business with Tony Stark.

"Agents," He motioned them over to the gathering horde of people who are all fixated on one thing or another; mostly papers, spreadsheets that no doubt contain information for their mission, which is still unknown to the Hawk and the Spider. It scares them, Tony realizes. Not knowing what they've been signed up for, but they'll deal with it as he's had to learn how, or they'll be of no use. That's not what SHIELD molded them to be. They will adapt.

"Welcome back, Agent Stark."

"Who would have thought that I'd miss this stupid place?" Tony asked in conversation. Fury rolled his eyes.

"Once you're a SHIELD agent you never really give that up." The one-eyed menace offered.

"True," Loki mused, having taken up for the silently fuming Tony. He did not want to be here. This so-called agency held memories. The kind that were supposed to be locked away in the deepest corners of that little black Pandora's box that was hidden away in the darkest recesses of his mind, not to be dragged up again by stuff like this!

"It's for a cause," He muttered more to himself than to the others around him.

"A noble one indeed." Loki murmured his consent.

They go over the final plans for the attack.

The Invasion has begun.

_Any Questions? _


	7. Close Encounters

Flashback: Close Encounters of the Stormy Kind

**(Despite the title, Thor makes no appearance yet.)**

**Thank you SO MUCH **obsessivereader95** for letting me use your story **_How to Save A Life_**! It helped me get my point across BRILLIANTLY! For those of you reading, **_go look up that story and read it in its entirety_**. I'm not even kidding. Go now. This is the backbone for why Phil and Tony are such good friends and why Loki was so concerned in the beginning. The friendship will make appearances throughout the story so keep watch for that. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

_Flashback (How to Save A Life by obessivereaser95) _**My inserts.**Story. Got it?

_Darkness was beginning to engulf the edges of Tony's vision, grey spots popping in and out of view. The burning pain of the palladium coursing through his veins and arteries was creeping along his neck, forcing his posture into ramrod straightness uncommon in a sick person's usual manner._

**He tried not to let it get to him again, those particular memories from that particular time (when he thought he was going to die.) Tony Stark did not take Death very well. Lucky him he wasn't Tony Stark; Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist. He was Tony's **_**other half**_**, if you would. He was what few had seen and he took Death just fine, thank you very much. **

_SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson watched the genius work with morbid curiosity. This was a man in the throes of death, barely clinging to life through the low-dosages of anti-palladium. As the agent swiftly took in his charge's stiffness, he sighed. Tony Stark seemed reluctant to ask anyone else for help. Coulson was sure that, had he not been coerced by a SHIELD agent with a tazer to save his own life, he would have already given up. It seemed the sarcastic man had already lost hope of ever regaining his health._

**Weak! He was weakened by that stupid human poison and it addled his brain! Why had he not fought back, done something?! He shouldn't have had to rely on the (undead) agent from SHIELD to revive him only for him to work himself (to an unseemly) death once again! **

_Stark's posture suddenly slumped. Coulson leapt into action, syringe (filled to the brim with the mysterious substance that gave temporary relief) poised and ready in his hand. Stark's body was starting another seizure in reaction to the foreign palladium. Coulson winced at the sight of the darkening, visible veins running up his neck and into his hairline. He administered the shot quickly and efficiently, and then backed away before the genius could wake up again._

_When he'd found out what the agent had done he'd raged at the man for hours, blue eyes blazing._** "I am Anthony Edward Stark!" He'd snarled. "You do not go anywhere near me! You definitely do not stick me with… whatever the hell that shit was! I just… no! Get out of my sight!" **

_Later, when a furious director questioned him about allowing Stark to leave, his only response was, "He needed it."_

_He was reassigned immediately. Stark seemed mildly disappointed._

_These "episodes," as Tony called them, were becoming more frequent and more dangerous. Tony was starting to forget things that mattered. He would often wake to find himself in the agent's arms, being towed to a small but luxurious cot in the corner. If it got to be that bad, Coulson usually had to sit next to him and remind him what he was doing, why he was doing it, and for whom he needed to do it. Reading up on the reports, the SHIELD agent had thought that Stark would want to live for himself or to spite someone. As hours wore on, he found out that the billionaire needed to be reminded of Pepper, Rhodey, and the heartbreak that he would leave in his wake if he were to disappear off the face of the Earth again._

It was sad, really, Phil would reflect during the ride to their drop point. What he'd had to do to get the man to live. He hadn't needed to do that for anyone, not even Barton or Romanoff. Sure he talked them down but they hadn't needed such… prodding? Reason? He didn't know what to call it. It was just another secret. One that he would take to his own grave.

_As a field agent, he did not (could not) let himself become attached to the man, but as Phil Coulson he felt an unnecessary amount of hope that the dying genius would pull through. Tony Stark, the billionaire and world-class playboy, began to slip away, leaving a modern-day genius struggling to cling to life for the sake of two people who thought he was just being more irresponsible than usual and a world that thought he only cared about his ego and alcohol._

**He didn't, by the way. Life was far more than that would ever mean. EVER. Anyone who dared to say otherwise could go jump off a cliff. He had more to worry about than the ridiculous opinions of others. They could burn for all he cared.**

_Half an hour later, he plunged it into the shaking and prone figure in the chair facing the projector screen. The tremors stopped instantly, and Tony slumped into the cushions. Coulson backed away into his corner, nervously flicking the side of the needle before capping it. Stark sat up slowly, looking around in a slightly disoriented fashion. Tony's eyes fixed on the screen and then looked down at something in his fingers. Coulson walked discreetly up the stairs and sat on a couch in one of the upstairs living rooms. When Tony made his way up another half hour later, the SHIELD agent tried his best to feign sleep._

(Of course, the genius saw through it **and shrugged it off. He didn't need the man but he was glad someone still cared. Even if it had been forced. So he** whispered a soft "thanks" before taking his leave.)

Fury hadn't given up yet, and if Fury believed in him, everyone but the council would follow to Stark's last, dying breath.

* * *

Tony jerked out of the memory, the one of Coulson saving his life (over and over and over again… like Loki often had when they weren't so terrible.)

"Get ready to unload," The pilot offered. "The drop zone is a few minutes out."

He thought he'd repaid his debt to Coulson when Captain America was found in the ice (but then again, that didn't count.) So why was the agent still around? He hadn't done his job and left like he was supposed to. Had probably disobeyed orders to stay with him. Tony couldn't wrap his head around why, and at the moment, didn't want to. He had lives to save.

**Did you read the story? Go read the story. Don't forget to tell me what you think! -Cinderfire**


	8. D-Day (CauseEffects)

**_D-Day (Or, the immediate effects of Freedom as exhibited by the Captured)_**

They went in guns blazing, all units at the exact same time. He couldn't account for the many others who risked their lives around the world for what he considered his cause but the unit he worked with swarmed the place. All the action faintly reminded him of D-Day. Of course, while the real D-Day had been way more brutal than this, the sentiment still stood. The world was united at war over a cause that involved far more than just him. He was not the only one who lost someone. He scoured the large cave-like structure alongside twenty others while the rest took care of the offenders. He tried to forget that he absolutely detested caves and focused on why this was happening. They had to find those kids.

Everything was going as well as could be expected for the mission, and he knew that some way, somehow, it would not last. Someone would be forgotten. Something would get blown up. The mission would fail. He didn't like that feeling of failure. As it were, he was leading a group of the captured (He couldn't rightfully call them children when more than half of them were proper adults. He briefly wondered how far this spanned back but squashed the thought with a vengeance. He was holding off the breakdown for as long as he could. No need to speed it up.) through the maze of caverns and narrow passages that were dark and small and-. Light! He breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of the SHIELD emblem that marked the transportation. They had considered his advice when he mentioned the amount of people.

He found that the agents who had been tasked with the same objective had all found their way out of the… place with everything and everyone intact. Good. Nothing could go wrong on this mission. Granted not everyone walked. Most of the people who walked aided or carried others entirely. Half of them were close to collapse or unconscious. It was a pathetic sight, and something near his chest twisted.

"Stark!"

"Yes, sir?"

"I just got word of a graveyard of some sort. One of the women we found was searching for a child that had been cast out. I need you two to get the woman and if possible, the child."

He noticed something off about Loki's voice when they responded and could easily guess the one person the former Asgardian was actively searching for but had not found. It would be just his luck too…

He got there before Loki did, and that was a feat all its own, only to be sent in a state of panic as the woman prepared to jump over the rail to what he assumed was a giant pit.

"Wait!" He called, pushing himself to go faster before the person did something stupid.

"You don't want to do that. That's a suicide mission." The woman whipped around to glower at him and he knew he'd said the wrong thing.

"What's down there anyway?"

"The dead, Anthony. This is where people are left when they are not of use."

He peered over… and immediately wished he hadn't. The sight was horrible. Almost like the camps he'd seen in his former life. Worse… Bodies were heaped carelessly, one on top of the other, twisted at odd angles, covered in various fluids from who knows what, sickness ran rampant and the smell of death was so prominent that he knew exactly what he was doing when he got home.

Sigyn jumped the rail while he was lost in the horrific scene, and something close to a wail tore from his throat. A hand on his shoulder assured him that Loki had indeed found his way and that hand tightened in increments until Loki had Sigyn back in his sights. She carried a significantly smaller form that Tony noted to be unconscious, but not dead. He could still see the faint rising and falling of the boy's chest. Not dead, but close. Apparently Sigyn knew that because she put on a burst of speed at the first sign of light.

That feeling Tony had that something would go wrong? It intensified and Tony rammed himself into Loki, who dragged Sigyn in turn. He watched as the two of them staggered toward the last few cars that had waited for them. Loki turned back as soon as he had realized what was wrong. _Anthony wasn't there!_ He watched in horror as the cave-like structure crumbled and burned with Tony still inside.  
"Come on, Loki," Sigyn murmured. "He's Anthony, remember? He's your other half. You can't survive that but he can. Remember what you'd tell him when you were both younger?"

"If… either one of us is lost, we have to stay where we are or… g- go where we know we'll be found."

"We're heading back to his home and he'll know that. We can't stay here, Loki." She sighed reluctantly. She wanted to find her savior as much as he needed to find his brother.

"Al-right." He muttered.

"He's alive. You know that much. Hold on to that."

* * *

Tony awoke to smoke-filled lungs and something crushing down on his chest, which was not a good feeling and that shit needed to stop right fucking now!

He pushed at whatever felt heaviest. It took him a few (okay, like a million,) tries but he managed to get himself free… only to find that the cave was crumbled rock and there was open air galore and not a soul in sight. Good. He hoped the bastards who dared to run whatever this was could freeze in their own personal Hell.

He got to his feet, tired to the point where he just wanted to collapse, and started walking. This wasn't Afghanistan. There was no extraction plan. They sure as hell weren't looking for him. He would be lucky if he could find food or water in this desolate place. What felt like hours later, he came across what could be classified more as a village than a town, and hoped to God that they had some form of communication. He'd take a string and a can if it could connect him to somewhere. {Preferably Pepper. But he knew he wouldn't have that luxury.}

He trudged up to the first house and knocked on the door. A dark-skinned woman came to the entrance and, upon seeing his appearance, shrieked like a banshee. Well, this couldn't be the first time he'd sent a woman screaming.

An equally dark-skinned man rushed to her side and together they ushered him into their home, showering him with words that he couldn't really understand but he heard words like Tony Stark and America and thanked fuck that the only link to SHIELD on his person was his second ID.

"Come, come," The woman offered in a thickly accented English. "You must be tired, hungry. You must eat and rest." She ordered.

"Yes, please." He muttered. He'd take anything at this point, considering that he'd made the mistake of not having any food since before the mission. In his defense he'd been extremely busy. The last thing he remembered was the cry of a child before he passed out. Well then.

* * *

"Explain!" Loki was not in the mood to give an explanation. All Loki wanted to do, all he ever wanted to do was to curl up with his wife and be dead to the world. Unfortunately, the world didn't work that way.

"That will get you nowhere, Agent." A soft voice penetrated his thoughts.

"We need him to tell us where Tony is."

"Wherever he is, Anthony is fine. Loki would tell us otherwise. In this case, no news is good news."

"Who are you anyway?"

"If your Director, who knows fairly well what Loki is capable of, has not bothered with

him, do you not think that this will get you down the same path? You waste your time, Agent, and you would do well to try another method. Patience is often a virtue."

* * *

Tony awoke to find that he was moving. He didn't like it one bit.

"Mr. Stark," Clearly Agent Coulson knew that.

"Whzrme."

"We're in a Jeep, Mr. Stark. Headed toward Stark Tower."

"Whnnat?"

"We touched down in upstate New York a few hours ago and drove from there."

Tony pondered this. It felt the same as when he'd come back after the war to find Loki and Sigyn. The same feeling of nervousness coursed through him now. Only difference was the number of people. Her among them. Great Norns, he hadn't seen her in years! He wondered what she looked like now. He hadn't gotten the chance to see her when they were clearing the bases. Looking back, he was glad. He probably would have gone berserk.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yes?"

"We're here." Phil assured him. He shot out of the seat with a jolt and almost hit his head on the roof.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, an amused look on his face.

"We do not speak of this mission." He growled. The Agent nodded. He knew how Tony felt about being seen as weak, much less actually having to show he was.

"Good luck, Mr. Stark."

"I'm sure the others have questions."

The SHIELD jeep took off without them.

Tony limped out of the elevator with Phil in tow.

* * *

"I told you they'd be back." Sigyn's voice was the first to reach his ears and that made him roll his eyes. Loki had probably gone catatonic again.

"I'll believe it when I see him."

That was Steve, actually, and the Avengers cared? Who knew? He sure hadn't.

"Come take a look. He's a little worse for wear but still in one piece."

"Don't tell them that!" He groused as he walked toward the kitchen. "You'll ruin my image!"

"What image? The one you completely shattered when you came on the mission to rescue us? That image?"

"Don't get smart with me, woman! I know where you sleep at night!"

"Don't threaten my wife, Anthony. I literally just got her back."

Loki strolled in the room like it was nothing, but Tony could see the bags under his eyes. These last few days hadn't done him any good.

"Your wife is my sister-in-law, buddy, and I swear, if she ever pulls some stupid stunt like that without telling someone you might not have a wife."

"I had to retrieve my son from that wretched place!" Sigyn snapped. "I would do it again whether you approved or not!"

"Yes, well if the imprint on my shoulder is anything to go my, your husband thought different."

"I'm here. And so are you, so I can't be hypocritical like I want to be."

"Where's Pepper?"

"She should be here. She actually did think you were dead. Not for long, but it's probably crossed her mind."

Any response was cut off by the fact that his face turned sideways with the force of his girlfriend's hand.

"Abusive," He groused playfully. "Honestly, you'd think she wasn't happy to see me at all." Pepper's only response was to drag him out of the living room. She didn't speak as she shoved him back into the elevator and JARVIS opened the door what felt like seconds later. She hadn't uttered a word yet and that worried him. She waited until they were secure in one of their rooms to completely melt in his arms and proceeded to become a blubbery mess.

"Oh my god," She mumbled repeatedly into his shirt. He just pressed his face into her hair. If tears moistened her scalp, neither of them mentioned it.

* * *

The inventor and his CEO didn't resurface until well in the next day, when he woke up properly (for the fifth time that night.)

"She's in the one a couple down from ours." Pepper murmured when she felt his weight shift.

He thanked her with a kiss to the temple and made sure the door didn't slam.

It was 10:30 in the morning and the occupants of the tower went about their respective routines. All of them somehow made it to the breakfast that Sigyn had prepared an hour later.

True to Pepper's words, Tony found the door to the room a couple doors down to be shut, but not locked. He knocked anyway.

"I'm not hungry." The voice behind the door snapped. She didn't sound any different than she had when he first met her. (That's not true. Her voice was marred by what she'd seen. The innocence was long gone. Then again, she'd never had much of that. )

"That's not why I'm here," He offered. "But it's something to add to my to-do list."

The door flew open and the figure behind it narrowed her eyes. She clamped her hand down on his arm and dug her clipped nails into his skin. It barely hurt and he didn't bother breaking his gaze.

"I made a mistake." He admitted.

"You did," She offered. "But not the way you think." That cinched it for him.

"What do you know?"

"Everything. It's not like I couldn't hear you arguing over me when I was in the room."

"And now?"

"We can start over. They don't deserve to know and I look enough like Maria to pass as your sister. I'm old enough to be. It's none of their business."

"Sounds good to me, kid. Want some breakfast?"

"You know what sucks?"

"Don't start with those."

"Adults curse all the time." She objected. "I'll stop if you do."

"I'm older than you. Always have been always will be; what were you saying?"

"I go under and Howard is still searching endlessly for Captain America. We come out and Captain America's been found; by none other than the very organization Howard helped create specifically in his honor to find him!"

"When you put it like that…"

"On top of that, Obadiah is dead and apparently so are Howard, Maria and Jarvis. I say good riddance to every single one of them but the Englishman. He was truly a saint."

"How old were you when I found you?"

"Four, according to Howard."

"And how old are you now?"

"22 according to your friends. I don't know really."

"Figures," Tony muttered darkly. "that I literally missed 18 years of your life."

"You have the rest of it to make up for."

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes.

"It's not the same."

"You're over-thinking it."

"I probably am, but that doesn't change anything."

"Exactly. So why bother?"

"When did you get so smart?"

"You haven't seen me in 18 years. I'm actually considered a genius on some weird level that I don't want to comprehend. Sigyn is the best teacher ever and she wasn't alone. I wasn't allowed out but the others swapped stories with every shift and I learned from that. There's still a lot that I don't know, but I've got you for that."

"That you do, kid."

* * *

"This girl could be dangerous!" Steve insisted. "We need to know who she is." The remaining Avengers gathered in the living room to talk about recent developments.

"We don't know who Loki or Sigyn are and we're not bothering them." Bruce objected.

"Loki's an agent of SHIELD that Fury called back from retirement. According to Fury, so was Tony." Natasha informed the group.

"What?!" Clint didn't want to believe what his partner was saying, but it would explain a lot. Mostly the stuff he knew about Coulson and how he knew who they were at first glance.

"That's impossible!" He protested.

"Says who?" The man of the hour stepped out of the elevator with the strange girl in tow.

"Who's the girl?" Steve demanded.

"I have a name, if you don't mind using it." The girl informed them in a cold, clipped tone.

"What's your name then?"

"My name as given to me by Tony, is Olivia."

"Your parents let you name another human being?" Steve mused. "You said Howard didn't care."

"He didn't, and Maria was too out of it to really bother. For a while I was all she had."

"Why wasn't the fact that you had a sister in your file?"

"I didn't even have to ask Fury to lock it away. He just knew." No one needed to know that SHIELD was originally created by a scientist with a few loose screws and a knack for inventing. "It's actually a wonder that I'm not just like my father," He chuckled darkly.

"If you had no one to turn to you would have been." Loki growled.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Jarvis, Peggy, Olivia, Rhodes, Pepper and Sigyn. Considering that those people were essential to how you turned out, you could stand to be a bit more grateful." The Trickster sneered.

"Point." Tony offered.

"I usually tend to have those."

"You didn't include yourself in that list." Pepper noticed.

"I'd think you were one of the most important." Sigyn agreed.

"I'm half the reason he's as dark as he is, actually."

"You're also part of the reason I joined SHIELD instead of burning it to the ground like I originally intended."

"I certainly couldn't let you destroy my one shot at finding Sigyn. A drunkard Howard might have been but he was smart. The same could easily be said for yourself, if your greatest creations were lost to some terrible plot."

"They nearly were!" Tony snapped.

"Yes, well you got them back, didn't you? Poor bastard never had a chance." Loki sneered. "Died before he could even reach you, forget about confronting Obie like he originally wanted."

"When he was sober he'd tell me to stay away from Obie. Hell, when he was drunk he told me to stay away from Obie."

"You obviously listened somehow."

"What makes you say that?"

"Obadiah Stane was Anthony's godfather and Howard's business partner. He ran the company for a while after Howard died so Anthony could grow up as Howard wanted. Couldn't have a minor running Stark Industries, genius or no. Obadiah got a taste of power and couldn't let go. Hence we get Afghanistan as well as Iron Man's purpose: eliminate the threat of Obadiah and work his way down from there."

"Thank you, Loki, for telling them what they should already know. Now, where did you put my alcohol?"

"Down the drain, Anthony."

"You're shitting me, right?"

"I kid you not."

"Did you really drain my stash?"

Loki knew how the game was played, but it was hard to keep up when Tony was on Subject 500 and he'd just gotten to 25.

"Not the whole thing."

"Awesome!"

"You're not drinking another drop for the rest of the week."

"You stubborn bastard!"

"I will not have my resolve weaken by your begging, if that's what you imply."

"I hate you." Tony groused.

"So you say." Tony snorted. Loki rolled his eyes.

"It's only three days, Anthony. Surely you can keep yourself busy through other means."

"Despite what I've led you all to believe, alcohol is not nor has it ever been my number one priority. I am not my father's child and you would do well to remember that."

"Good. Sigyn made breakfast."

"Are there pancakes involved? I'm down for some of her pancakes. They're really good."

"Sigyn's cooking skills are perfection and nothing less." Loki growled.

"You're just biased." Tony countered. "C'mon, Liv. You can have whatever's on the table as long as it doesn't hurt you. Do you still react badly to nuts?"

The girl narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"She can eat peanut butter but that's it. I've kept her away from nuts in general just in case."

"Thanks." He yawned. "You can sit here." He responded to the girl's silent question.

Liv took the seat next to Tony and stared at his plate. It was obvious that she didn't know what to do. Jack hopped up and dragged Liv to the kitchen. Tony watched, approval in his gaze. It was good that the boy felt comfortable enough to call this place his home, but given what Liv had gone through, he knew it would take her more time.

Liv came back with a full plate and Jack at her heels. Once she got herself situated, she looked to Tony, the question clear in her eyes as she observed the food.

"You're fine," He offered softly. She gave the food an odd look before grabbing her fork and wolfing it down in record time.

"Slow down, Liv. No one else wants your food. It's not going anywhere."

She ducked her head and turned back to her plate. He knew this would take a while.


	9. Dead Spiders and other related incidents

**Disclaimer: If I were Joss Whedon then Tony would be so different... because Fanfiction.**

"Why are we doing this again?"

"The last thing anyone needs is for you to be killed because you've gotten lazy."

"Do I have to?" Tony whined.

"Yes." The Black Widow leered. "I'd pay good money for you to get your ass kicked."

"No one asked you!" The reluctant billionaire stuck his tongue out at the assassin and Loki rolled his eyes.

"What do I need to do to make you? Kidnap Pepper?"

"You try anything-!"

"Relax, Anthony, you know why I can't do that."

"It would be efficient."

"It would get you and anyone else who got in my way killed. Gruesomely. I might not even leave a body behind."

"Believe me, Lady Widow, Anthony can take people like you out on his worst day."

"I highly doubt that."

"I've seen it happen."

"I've fought Tony before. He's not much to go by."

"You have fought his mask, Ms. Romanoff, and nothing further. If you think you can touch Anthony if he does not wish it then you are sorely mistaken."  
Natasha hummed in disbelief but didn't argue further. She would have to test that out for herself.

"You can sit here and mope about future pains or you can punch me like I know you want to."

"But I don't wanna- offph!" Tony was cut off as Loki slammed into the billionaire and watched with a pleased look on his face as his friend flew into the punching bags on the other side of the room.

Tony snorted and got to his feet, rolling his shoulders back and popping his muscles.

"Quit trying to be a tough guy and fight him already!" Clint jeered.

"It's a stress reliever." Sigyn explained. "Loki does it too."

You could barely see the two men in the next five minutes that passed. Every so often one of them would stop at some insane part of the gym. Tony favored higher places and Loki took great pride in dragging him down. Loki didn't have a preference. He could stop wherever he wished and still get around Tony.

At one point, it looked like Tony was choking the God of Mischief but the trickster got free and Tony always got his just desserts.

"I think you should call this one a tie!" Pepper's calm, authoritative voice brought Tony to a grinding halt. Loki crashed into him head-on and soon enough they were back at it!

Pepper rolled her eyes and made to step forward when she felt a steady grip on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that." Steve advised. "They look pretty deadly right about now."

"Anthony Edward Stark!" Pepper's voice made everyone freeze and Steve released the woman, glad that she'd somewhat taken his advice. Loki released the death hold he had on Tony and the inventor unhooked his claw-like grip. Tony bounded over to Pepper, question in his eyes.

"We didn't hurt anyone, did we?"

She nodded, seeing the full question in his eyes.

"We're fine, Tony. You two were just getting a bit too serious for everyone's liking." His girlfriend explained.

"Good." Tony muttered. "We'll pick up later," He offered his opponent."

"As a fighter, you've improved but as an agent, there are a few things you need to work on. Like letting the opponent gain the upper hand."

"You know that trick, Loki. We've used it more than enough times."

"You might want to mix up your playbook, then, or learn some new tricks."

"Are you calling me predictable?"

"Not to anyone else."

"It's just as well." Tony groused.

"Work on it." He offered. "I believe someone else would like to go a few rounds with you."

"Really?" Tony grinned fiercely as Natasha finished sharpening her knives. This would be fun.

He had the Black Widow on her back in seconds flat. Not because he'd expected to win, but because she'd made a mistake. He got to his feet, making sure that his magic kept her on the ground; watching as she writhed to free herself.

"Don't struggle." He snorted coldly. "You'll only hurt yourself more." Natasha seemed to hear him because her struggles slowed, then stopped completely.

"Rule number one: When you fight me, you do so in an open manner. You saw how Loki and I fought. He did what he did for a reason. I knew when he was coming because he knew what would happen if he didn't. I don't care how much of a spy you are, Natalia, I do not appreciate backstabbing and if you pull something like this again… I can't exactly guarantee your life. Are we understood?"  
Natasha nodded weakly. Tony glared at her. The great assassin rendered useless by a simple spell!

_Kill her! She is useless! Dispose of the mortal scum and teach the rest of them what it means to cross a Son of Thanos!  
_

_TRUTH AND MISCHIEF: CAT AND MOUSE _TRUTH AND MISCHIEF: CAT AND MOUSE _TRUTH AND MISCHIEF: CAT AND MOUSE __TRUTH AND MISCHIEF: CAT v. MOUSE___

Loki watched him stare. The others stood in shock as Tony took down the Black Widow, and even now he could feel Truth-sayer tighten the noose around her neck…

"What are you doing to her?!" The soldier gasped out. Tony glared down at his captive, his eyes cold and emotionless.

"Anthony," He began. "You have to let her go."

"She tried to have me killed!" He barked out, not bothering to loosen his hold or break his gaze.

"She's your ally! You've fought by her side before! She's nowhere near as dangerous and you or I. You know that!" The bonds weakened a fraction, but it was enough to unravel Tony's magic with his own.

Natasha coughed and spluttered, gasping for breath, and Tony's knees buckled.

"What happened?" He demanded when he took everything in."

"Natasha tried a sneak-attack and you almost drained her of her life force."

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"That should be impossible." He growled.

"How so?"

"She's got a variation of the Serum in her blood. She's as immortal as Steve and Bruce are. It would take an extremely powerful spell to even attempt such a thing and even then it wouldn't work!" The inventor snapped. "That spell was to keep her in place. It shouldn't have bothered her life force."

"So what happened?!" Clint demanded.

"He was in your thoughts, Anthony. I think he might have twisted the spell."

"Why would he be there?"

"If I knew I would tell you."

"Of course you would." Tony sneered. "I'm not letting you screw me over this time, Trickster."

"Is that a promise, Rekke?" Loki's crystal blue eyes gleamed mischievously.

"If you fuck things up like you did the last time I will laugh when Thanos gets his hands on you."

"No you wouldn't, Anthony, because you'd be right there with me." Tony blinked

"Touché," He offered. "Say, when can we go back to Asgard? I think Odin should be reminded exactly how his precious Golden Realm still stands."

"Do not bother with the Asgardians, Anthony, I wish to keep my head."

"They need to be knocked down a few pegs." Tony groused as they walked through the hall, trailed by others' uncertain steps.

"Why antagonize them if they haven't done anything?" Bruce wondered.

"Anthony is right about one thing." Loki admitted. "They're the Americans of the Nine Realms, truly."

"What's that supposed to mean" Steve wondered.

"After World War II ended, the US took over half the world and the Soviet Union took over the other half. It's called the Cold War, Captain Rogers, and it ended with the break-up of the Soviet Union. From there America continued to expand, though not in the physical sense. We're far too clever for that. I admire the persuasion techniques of the United States; without them, we would not currently feel the need to break up or get involved in all the petty squabbles of the world. I imagine other countries might be quite sick of it by now, but they can't do much about it. We've got the weight so why not throw it around a bit?"

"Damn, Lokes. Tell me how you really feel."

"About you in particular? You're a lot better than what you were and though I am loathe to say so, Afghanistan might have helped with that."

"We don't talk about Afghanistan."

"So why do you speak of Asgard?"

"Point." Tony offered.

* * *

"You fight like Sigyn did when she's scared."

"Sigyn had to fight?"

"Not much. Only the first time, and that was because the Guards were all stupid and tried to touch her. She got free after the Boss made himself clear and she never had to fight again… wait, that's not true. She fought when they threw Jack in the pit. Stupid Guards were so focused on her that I almost went after him but one of the boys caught me and said it was suicide. I wish I'd gone anyway." She admitted. "At least I could have given him some of my food."

"Thank you for trying, but if it was more harm to you then I'm sure Jack understood. Besides, we have him back now. You don't have to worry about that place any longer." Loki informed her.

"You and Tony blew it up!" Liv chirped happily.

"Indeed."

"There are others like us." The young woman muttered darkly.

"We got those places too."

"Good. Those men can go die in holes! Burning holes with pits so deep they'll never see the light of day!" She snarled.

"What have I told you about cursing people?" Tony sighed, having heard the tail-end of their conversation and caught up with them.

"Not to do it."

"Then what did I just hear?"

"But they deserve it!"

"They're dead, Liv. The only place you'll see them is in your nightmares and those change."

* * *

"So, who are you exactly?"

"I'm Tony's younger sister." She sighed. The Archer was getting on her nerves with all his curiosity. They all were. No doubt he'd been lurking in the vents while she had talked to Tony earlier.

"That's not what I heard."

"Then who am I, agent of SHIELD, and why are you so interested?"

"I have everyone in the tower pegged except for you. It's a matter of security."

"If I were truly a threat to your safety then JARVIS would have gotten rid of me by now whether Tony liked it or not. As he hasn't, you can assume otherwise."

"I don't make assumptions, kid. I rely on facts."

"That's a lie. Everyone makes an assumption."

"Look, kid. I don't know who you think you are but we know absolutely nothing about you other than the fact that you came from some stupid cave with some strangers an invisible SHIELD agent claims as his family. I smell bullshit so excuse me for asking around."

"If you truly want to know, ask Tony or ask Fury. Other than that, I have nothing more to offer so you would do well to leave me alone."

* * *

"What happened to Howard?" She burst into his lab and it took all his strength not to jerk in surprise.

"Why?" He asked.

"He still owes me an explanation. Now I hear that he's dead and that means I can't make him talk." Liv groused.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why did he do it? It makes no sense!"

"Howard was always ahead of his time, Liv. That's something you have to understand. That and the fact that you don't bother him when he's working. I learned that early on, which is the only reason I didn't find out sooner."

"He was working on ideas for cloning." Tony continued. "Again, I don't know why but he was. I also didn't know that he'd perfected it until I walked into the lab that day."

"So I was his project."

"Yes." Tony admitted.

"Then why bother searching for me? Howard's dead."

"You were kidnapped, Liv. And even if he hadn't backed the search I still would have found you somehow."

"Why?!" She snarled. "You said it yourself! I'm not even human, Tony! What would be the point in trying to find me if I was no more use?" She sneered.

Tony sighed.

"I just knew that I lost you and I had to find you. I never cared that you were one of Dad's projects. You're my responsibility now and I'm telling you that you get to be whoever you want. No more living under Howard's shadow."

"What happened to him?"

"Mom Dad and Jarvis died in a car accident, the circumstances of which are extremely suspicious. I'm still looking into it but there's practically nothing to work with."

"That's ridiculous! The great Howard Stark, who practically ended World War II, was taken out in a car accident?!" She sneered.

"He's only human, Liv. It happens."

"I bet you wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what? Get in a car accident? It's happened before."

"Die so stupidly. He was probably drunk."

"Actually, no. He wasn't and even if he were that wouldn't be the cause of death because Jarvis was driving."

"Then they were set up."

"What makes you say that?"

"Jarvis was driving a car that was probably tweaked by you and Howard. Someone must have messed with it."

"It makes sense but I'd like to wait before we poke a hornets' nest all over again."

"It's not fair!" She groused.

"Life's not fair. You still go on with it."

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me rant."

"Always, kid. It doesn't bother me."

* * *

"Where'd Cap and Natashalie sidle off to?" It had been two days since Clint's failed attempt at a confrontation and Olivia's successful cornering of Tony. Since that cornering, the engineer had holed himself up in his workshop, stewing in broken memories and lost things and spiraling down, down, down… and to think, he'd done it all by himself, without the help of any alcohol whatsoever. He'd managed to keep Pepper away with mutterings of a giant breakthrough and she'd only allowed it because she'd seen the desperate look behind his eyes… and knew when to back off. It was one of the things he loved about her. Loki and Sigyn had finally decided that Jack couldn't be contained forever (really it was Loki getting over himself and Sigyn getting re-acquainted with the world that cinched it for them.) and the happy family of three were perfectly fine with their own home (the one Loki actually owned and couldn't bring himself to go back to because _memories!_) That left Tony with Liv, the Spy Twins, Bruce, Cap, and Pepper, and he was just fine with that.

"Mission." Clint offered casually. Tony knew there was something the archer wasn't saying but he didn't bother pushing it. "You know what I don't get?"

"Not sure I want to but feel free to lay it on me."

"How could SHIELD keep our own people secret from us? Coulson knew about you two, didn't he?"

"SHIELD has a lot more secrets than you want to bother with, Legolas. Even I don't know them all, and I'm not sure I want to. I left for a reason."

"Funny." Clint snorted. "You seemed right at home on that one with the slave ring."

"Just because I was an agent of SHIELD doesn't mean that I want to go back. I owe them nothing." Tony snapped. "If it were up to me the whole thing would have burned."

"What the hell is the matter with you?! You just said it yourself that you were one of us once! You can't just reject them like that!"

"Yes, well apparently SHIELD has done more for you than for me. As it stands, that agency smells something sour. I have no idea what it is and it's driving me up the fucking wall! So excuse me if I decide to stomp all over that damn place because something's not right!"

"If you don't like it so much then why don't you leave?"

"I did!" Tony snarled. "It always comes back though. It's another part of my father's legacy he expected me to keep up." Clint's confused expression told all.

"What, you thought it was a coincidence I fell right into step? No." Tony scowled darkly. "I was trained, Barton, just as well if not better than you were. So be a good little agent of SHIELD and back off. I refuse to be brainwashed like the rest of you idiots."

"Fuck off, Stark. You don't know anything."

"You're not the first to tell me that and you won't be the last."


	10. Evil ex-boyfriend is EVIL!

**I am SOOOOO sorry for not updating sooner! I've been preparing for college and I finally have some downtime. Here goes!**

Just when thimgs started to boil over, Fury called in the Avengers. Loki had decided to return to SHIELD for good while Tony dealt with the clandestine organization mostly from the sidelines.

"It would seem that our villain of the day is smarter than average."

"Lay it on us, Patch-work." Tony groused. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"We've discovered a warehouse somewhere in Utah full of traumatized children. They're all around their teenage years and they all have the same love of video games. These children have all volunteered to test out new software created by an unknown source. Apparently it feeds on their wildest dreams or something as weird but the software has some glitches."

"Why are we dealing with this?"

"The game has brainwashed these children into performing the commands of the leader."

"What do we have on this guy?" Clint asked.

"A suspicion, nothing more, but we think that this man is involved." Fury brought up a picture and Loki barked a laugh at Tony's indignant snarl.

"I do not have time for this shit!" The iron Avenger snapped. "JARVIS! Put me through to that asshole. Apparently he hasn't learned how to keep his hands to himself!"

"Wait, you know who this is?!"

"Of course we know who this is, Agent Barton." Loki managed to cough out between laughs. "Fury would know as well, if he'd been keeping tabs on the man as he said."

Tony held up a hand for silence as the phone was answered.

"Hello?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Lovely to hear from you, Marc Antony."

"Call it off."

"Excuse me?"

"Whatever you're doing to those kids with that game. Shut it down."

"Why should I?"

"Shut down that game of yours, return those kids to their families, I want all of your information, and turn yourself in for questioning. Maybe in a few years we can fix the game and you'll be able to sell it the right way."

"What could my General possibly do that would be so threatening?"

"I'll do far more than put you to sleep, that's for sure." Tony sneered coldly. He grinned when he heard the other man's audible gulp. The noise on the other end signaled a shift in movement and the man sighed.

"Alright, Stark. You win. You better not be lying."

"Mind tricks are more your forte, so there's nothing to worry about, is there?"

"How long?"

"You have a day, starting now. Good luck, Caesar. You'll need it."

* * *

Loki snapped and let out something like a roar.

"When I get my hands on that asshole-!"

"You'll do nothing."

"Tony-."

"Nothing, Loki. We'll handle him when the threat is neutralized. Until then, why not let the mole do our work for us?"

"If I didn't know any better…"

"It's a good thing you do, then." Tony snorted. "There's nothing more we can do but try and contain the situation." He told Fury. "I gave Stone more time than he needed and if he knows what's good for him that will have the info by tomorrow morning."

"I wouldn't have called you in if I knew this would happen."

"All the better that you did, Fury. With luck, we can shut this down before anything happens."

"Good luck with that." Fury snorts.

* * *

"Who was your informant?" Natasha demanded when they got back to Stark Tower.

"How did Fury know and we didn't?" Clint added.

"And why did Loki seem so ready to hurt the guy?" Steve's genuine concern made Tony laugh.

"Tiberius Stone has been a thorn in my side since I was 17. Loki is overprotective and Fury knows because Loki told him."

"What reason would Loki have to be overprotective?" Steve asked. "Was this man a friend of yours?" Tony froze in his tracks and shifted awkwardly.

"If that's how you want to put it then sure, he was a friend. The bastard should be over with the info by tomorrow. Don't bother me unless the house is getting destroyed or we're called out."

* * *

"Well, well, if it isn't my little Marc Antony, all grown up." The blonde-haired man flashed a mega-watt smile but Tony wasn't fooled.

"Last I checked you were in a wheelchair." Tony grinned fiercely. "When did that change?"

"Very funny, Tony. Really, you could open up your own club."

"Do you have my info or not?"

"But of course," The blonde man, Tiberius, grinned and reached inside his jacket, producing a thick folder. "My people are nothing but efficient, especially when I persuade them otherwise."

"Good to know I'm not the only one sick of cleaning up your mess."

"It was your job." Tiberius snorted.

"Like hell," Tony sneered. "You just made more of a mess and it was so, very painful to watch. The last mess you made I refused to clean up, and look where that got you."

"Who got the better deal out of that one, Marc Antony?"

"I warned you more than enough times. You chose not to listen. That wasn't really my problem."

"You think you're hot stuff, don't you?"

"My girlfriend sure does."

"Remember your place, Marc Antony." Tiberius warned.

"The Ides of March have yet to come, Caesar." Tony countered. The businessman gulped as the engineer's best friend pulled a knife to his throat.

"But keep standing there and they'll come sooner than you think." The god of mischief growled.

"Loki Stark," The businessman purred.

"That's my name," Loki flashed the man a feral grin and sheathed the knife in one move.

"Don't wear it out."

"Wrong Stark, old friend."

"I wonder why that is," Loki sneered. "I believe we're done here."

"Yes, I… should be going." Tiberius muttered. "I'll see you soon, Marc Antony, rest assured."

Loki let out a low growl but Tony shook his head.

"Feel free to hold your breath, but don't count on anything. JARVIS, please escort this gentleman off my property."

"Certainly, Sir."

* * *

"What was that?!" Clint snarled when he caught sight of Tony again. The Avengers had disappeared at Tony's insistence, but JARVIS allowed them access to the security cameras and none of them liked what they saw.

"That, my friend, was Tiberius Stone, CEO of Viastone Inc. and thorn in my side since college."

"Marc Antony?" Bruce spat. "How could you let him degrade you like that?! Why didn't you do something?"

"I don't get it, was that whole thing some kind of role-play or something?" Natasha wondered.

"It's a nickname, albeit a demeaning one. The names come from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Tony calling him that puts him in a position of power. Marc Antony was Caesar's general and there were insinuations that they were lovers for a time." Here, Loki flashed Tony a look and the engineer returned an ironic grin.

"Wait, so that guy was an abusive ex who moonlights as a nagging stalker?!" Clint snapped incredulously. "And Fury knew all this?!"

"As usual, Hawkeye, your sight is impeccable." Tony rubbed a hand over his face.

"You and Loki threatened him. Was that in Shakespeare too?"

"In the play, a fortuneteller warns Caesar that something's going to happen on March 15th, the ides of March. That day comes around and Caesar gets backstabbed literally. When I threatened him, I was telling him that 1, I'm not afraid to kick his ass, and 2, that he should watch his back because I'm not the only one out to get him."

"He should consider himself lucky that he hasn't met the Black Widow." Natasha offered. "I could give him a few things to think about."

"Don't bother. As nice as that sounds, and believe me I did consider it, he needs to stay exactly where he is."

**For those of you who don't know, Tiberius Stone is in the comics as exactly what I caled him. The extent of my knowledge is limited so you'd be better off looking it up than taking my word for it.**


	11. Cursed Starks

"We should do something."

Bleary eyes popped open to the sight of a blue and white striped tabby with green eyes nose-to-nose with one Tony Stark. If he were any other man, he'd have screamed. Him being who he was, he settled for a rather manly exhale that from anyone else would have resembled a sigh.

"Like what?" He snorted, amused when the small tabby licked his nose and rubbed her face against his.

"We could get ice cream." The feline offered. He immediately closed his eyes and shook his head, doing his best to ward off unwanted memories.

"I've got a better idea, kitten. Call Loki and see if he'll come over for a little cat session."

"Cat session?"

"He'll know what I mean. Ask him if he and Sigyn are up to teaching you rascals about what it means to be a Stark."

The blue and white feline scampered off with a nod and Tony felt around the other side of the bed. Pepper had slept in for once in her extremely hectic life. He would do his best to give her a day off.

"What exactly is your plan here, Anthony?" Sigyn asked when the family of three were welcomed into the tower and shown to the training room. Her brother-in-law slipped her a laser pointer with a sly grin.

"No real plan. Liv said we should do something and I figured we could explore the family curse."

"Admit it, Anthony. You just want an excuse to run around chasing your own tail."

"I'll have to correct you there, dear. Only a dog would be so mindless as to chase its own tail. Cats are far more intelligent so please, don't insult the species." Loki yawned.

Sigyn turned to find that her husband had dropped his guise to reveal the golden fur that ran down his skin and covered his face. His human ears had shrunken and the furry lumps on his head served as a substitute for the instruments of hearing. They flicked and swiveled around, catching any sound within range. A glance at the ceiling revealed her husband's brother-in-arms had scaled the walls as he often loved to do, silver claws skittering along while not leaving so much as a scratch. His silver-blue fur stuck out at all angles, like his hair when he'd just woken from sleep, before he could do anything about it. Tony took great pride in his appearance, despite what he would have others believe. Jack, much to her surprise, had inherited the "cat-curse" as well. His pelt was a beautiful reddish-brown that, like the other two men, most-likely covered his entire body. Olivia had glued herself to Sigyn's side, despite the reassurances of all three cat-men that she would be fine no matter what she looked like. She had been fine with Tony when she'd begged him to get up and do stuff, so why was she so afraid now? Olivia sighed and glanced at Tony, who nodded encouragingly. He knew that look. It was the same look he'd worn when he revealed himself to Pepper and Rhodey. He'd wanted their approval. Blue-and-white-striped fur soon covered her entire body, whiskers and all like the other three. She popped open a jade-green eye and flicked her tail nervously.

"How do I look?" She asked Sigyn. Jack yelped as he fell through open air, too stunned to remember to hold onto the wall he'd chosen as his perch. Tony snickered as Loki caught his son by the collar of his shirt and set him down on the floor. The younger tom raced over to his female friend and froze, a shocked expression on his face.

"You look beautiful!" He blurted out. He yelped and smacked a hand to his forehead.

"Please tell me I did not just say that aloud?!" He wailed, covering his face with clawed hands and letting his ears flatten against his skull.

"Good thing they're not actually related." Loki snickered.

"I saw this coming a mile away and I still have the urge to rip the boy's head clean off!" Tony scowled.

"Do not harm my son, Anthony. If guilt doesn't make you regret it then Sigyn will."

"But he-."

"I know, old friend."

"I literally just got her back."

"It sucks." Loki agreed. Tony smacked a paw to his silver-furred face.

"You're lucky I know you." He groused.

"Sir," JARVIS interrupted his fake-mourning.

"Yes?" Tony hissed.

"I have told Ms. Potts of your location. She will be there in approximately five seconds. A frantic "Tony?!" punctuated the AI's statement and the genius sprang for the ground just as his girlfriend entered the room.

"Hey, Pep!" He purred as he wrapped her in a hug, inhaling her scent.

"Hello," She chuckled softly as she felt his tail wrap around her waist. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Jack blurted out his undying love for Olivia." Sigyn snickered from her spot, watching as the two teens chased each other around the room in an endless competition.

Pepper blinked, amused as Tony buried his furry head on her shoulder.

"I barely know her and then this happens." He grumbled.

"Better someone you know then someone you don't." She offered gently.

"Yeah, yeah." Tony sniffed. "I still say it's not fair." He growled.

"What are you complaining about?" Loki snorted bitterly. "You got a year with her."

"Point," Tony offered. "I guess it's not the end of the world."

"Damn right, old friend." Loki snorted. "That's what we're trying to prevent."

"Not getting into that," Tony warned.

A shocked gasping noise made every head turn for the entrance to the training room. Steve and Thor had come with every intention of sparring that day but if the look on the Captain's face was anything to go by, their fight would be postponed in favor of an explanation. The red dot from the laser pointer flashed around the room and Tony was fresh on its trail. Olivia kept a silent vigil from her guardian's side and Jack occasionally guided Tony in his misguided attempt to catch the red dot, the likes of which was clearly mocking him. He would find that stupid thing and trap it once and for all!

Steve's sound of amazement/borderline asthma made him abandon the chase in favor of helping a teammate.

"You alright there, Cap? Need your inhaler?"

Steve shook his head and blinked rapidly to clear his thoughts.

"Either I'm hallucinating or I really am surrounded by cat-people." The man out of time rasped. Tony snorted.

"Unfortunately for me, Rogers, you're not hallucinating. You can thank your buddy Howard for that."

"What?" The poor man was so confused he didn't even know where to start!

"You look as though you have been trapped between a shift, my friends. Is that not the case?"

"Not entirely, Thor. Some shifters, if we're good enough, can retain the features of the animal they shift to most often. This is what I look like and apparently Jack has inherited my knack for magic. Anthony's father did something to his mother before he and Olivia were born and as a result, this is their true form."

"What, like he spliced your genes with a cat's?" Bruce had thankfully not freaked out upon sight of the cat-people that had taken over the training room (or at least he compartmentalized it) and chose to focus on the conversation instead.

"Unfortunately." Tony growled. Olivia's tail wrapped around her left leg and her ears went flat against her skull. She would have bared her teeth but Tony said that the calm scientist was a friend, and you didn't scare off friends. He muttered something out the side of his mouth ("Calm yourself, Kitten.") and she unwound a fraction of an inch. She didn't know these people like she did Tony and Sigyn. Then again… she barely knew Tony. She turned to her guardian with a horrified expression and he nodded, recognizing the look in her eyes. She'd finally figured out what he'd been getting at.

"We have all the time in the world, Liv. Remember that."

"Can you really land on your feet?" Natasha snickered. Tony rolled his eyes.

"I'm not some pet, Romanoff. There's a reason you didn't know before today." Here, he turned to Loki. "Howard was right about one thing."

"And what would that be, Anthony?"

"It's a known fact that people fear what they don't understand, and they often don't bother to take the time to. If anything, this was a mistake." Tony sneered.

Something flickered beside Tony and the genius closed his eyes.

"Sigyn, if you don't turn that stupid laser pointer off, I will shove it down your throat."

The flickering continued. Tony unsheathed his claws and Loki tensed, ready to intercept when needed. No one touched his wife.

The flickering persisted and Tony stiffened.

Don't give in. Don't give in. DO NOT give in! Tony groaned and his eyes snapped open. His head whipped around wildly, looking for the stupid red dot.

He found it on the ceiling and grinned manically as his tail slowly flicked back and forth.

"You know you want to, Rekke." Sigyn snickered, waving the laser around the room.

"I hate you!" He groused as he scaled the wall.

"I bet you do." Loki's wife snorted.

"My nemesis," Tony hissed at the waving red dot. "we meet again."

"Is he serious?" Clint sneered.

"Completely, for now." Pepper murmured as she watched her boyfriend chase the crimson bean around the training room. "Once he snaps out of it he'll be back to normal. Sigyn just did this to help him blow off steam. The one time I held that thing he was so busy trying to catch up with it he was worn out in half an hour, and cats are really good with endurance so that's not that long."

"But this is a thing that happens to people? This is… normal?!" The Captain squeaked.

"No, Captain!" Loki yowled from where he crouched a few meters off the ground, waiting for Tony to get closer to him. "This is the result of magic and Howard Stark's ridiculous knack for mad science!"

"What's next, a clone?" Bruce quipped. Tony froze in his spot on the ceiling but decided better of it and settled for chasing the laser with a renewed vengeance. Sigyn, sensing his pent-up anger, waved the thing in an intricate pattern and told him to replicate it, in hopes that giving him a challenge would take his mind off the conversation.

The other three joined in and then it was a mad dash to see who could complete their pattern first with the least mistakes. It was down to Tony and Loki within five minutes and Sigyn allowed Pepper a turn with the beam. The redheaded CEO made the last one so quick and complicated that the men agreed to call it a draw.

"Thanks for that." Tony panted when he hit the ground and padded over to where the others stood.

"It was better than the alternative." Pepper muttered softly. Tony's tail drooped and his ears went back.

"I don't freak out in front of strangers." He pouted.

"I know," She acquiesced, rubbing the space between his ears. He let out something that could only be classified as a purr and rested his chin on her shoulder, eyes closed.

"I love you." He mumbled. Pepper laughed.

"If this is all it takes to hear that then I should ask for this more often."

"Because one person freaking out isn't enough." He groused.

"It's going to be a shock for them, but they've seen you now and you've let them." His fiancé replied.

"I think it's time we asked Fury for those security tapes." Loki snickered.

Tony groaned and ran a paw down his face.

"Why, so you can watch me fly around those idiots' heads and see them freak out? Like once wasn't enough," Tony laughed. "I bet Fury replays them at least three times a day, just for a good laugh."

"But it has to be when he's alone or else is rep is destroyed!" Loki howled his laughter and Tony joined in.

"Oh goodness, the look on Coulson's face!" Tony snickered. Suddenly, he jumped up and grabbed Pepper's arm. "C'mon, Pep, we gotta show you what we're talking about!" He said as he dragged her down the hall.

"Where are we going?" Sigyn asked.

"To the Helicarrier. Have you seen it before? It's awesome!"

"You're only saying that because you invented it," He sighed.

"You created the Helicarrier?!" Clint squawked.

"I made a lot of the stuff SHIELD uses, but you'll figure that out later. Right now, we're gonna get those tapes so you all can see what we're talking about!"


	12. Lessons Learned

They got to the Helicarrier with no real problem and by that time, Tony and Loki had been replaced with cats. Fury was on the Bridge talking to a group of what Tony assumed to be junior agents, considering how they squirmed when they arrived. Tony bounded over to the one-eyed director and pawed at his long, black trench coat. Fury spared him a glance, rolled his eye, and kept speaking to the junior agents. Loki crawled up the length of his arm, making sure to keep his balance but not bothering to unsheathe his claws. He wouldn't want to ruin Fury's stuff out of fear of the darker man's wrath.

"Down, both of you! I'll deal with you later." The Director groused as their entourage entered the Helicarrier. "Go bother Coulson!"

The red cat nodded and knocked his blue counterpart off of the Director. The blue cat yowled in fury and the red one raced off, leaving its companion to charge after it.

Fury rolled his eye and pointed the entourage in the direction of Coulson's office before turning back to his stunned group of new agents. Looked like the twins were back up to their tricks.

* * *

Maria Hill was not one for surprises, if only because they usually had a negative impact on her plans. She'd been forced to overcome her fear to an extent, and now she merely reacted appropriately. The sight of two cats running past the training gym with a confused group of people racing after them did not surprise her at all. It was about time.

"Frost, Flame, you up for a training lesson?" She shouted, knowing that the cats' hearing was exceptionally good. The twins came barreling into the room at stopped at her feet, meowing affirmatives. She turned back to the group. Only the senior agents knew of the unofficial mascots of SHIELD, and most of what they knew turned out to be rumors. These agents were in for a surprise.

The pair slipped to her side as she continued to instruct the newer agents.

"Agent Hill,"

"Yes, Agent?"

"Whose pets are those and why did you call them here?" The girl in question asked.

"Stick around long enough and you might find out." Hill grinned. A few of the agents backed into their colleagues. They probably knew they were about to get played.

"You up to teaching the newbs?"

Tony meowed an affirmative and Loki unsheathed his claws.

"Alright then. I need a volunteer. "

One of the boys stepped forward with a smirk on his face.

"Beat the cat and you get excused from training for the rest of the week."

"Excuse me?" He glared at her incredulously. "It's a cat, Ms. Hill."

"Then I'm sure you'll have no problem."

The young man reached for Tony and picked the blue-grey tom up by the scruff of his neck.

"You're not so bad. Are you, cat?"

Loki scoffed. Mistake# 1. Tony swiped at his nose.

"Hey!" He snapped. Tony glanced at Loki, who nodded.

_Show these kids how it's done, Rekke._

Tony lashed out, clawing at the face before proceeding to rake his claws down the boy's arm. The young agent howled in pain and launched the blue tom across the room. Tony landed in a heap a few feet away from the wall.

The spectators by the door were horrified.

"I said beat the cat, not throw it across the room, Chambers. "

"It's a cat! And that hurt! What exactly did you expect me to do?!"

"Let's see how well you can pick on someone your own size." Tony sneered as he loped back over to the group. The agents were confused. What happened to the cats and where did Tony Stark come from?!

"Come now, Anthony. At least fight someone with half a chance." That froze him and he nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.

"We could always show them whatever lesson Hill was trying to teach. what was that, by the way? You never mentioned it."

"Direct hostage situation."

"I can do that." Tony grinned. "I can do that very well." He purred. Loki rolled his eyes and lunged for his brother, who saw the move coming and let himself be caught.

"Do you even remember half the moves Fury taught us?"

"Of course!" Tony snorted, using one of said moves to escape from Loki's grasp.

"What made you think I forgot?"

"It's been a while, is all. Who did you have in mind?"

"For my next trick, I will need a volunteer from the audience. You should do nicely." He flashed Hill a feral grin as he yanked Chambers out of the group.

Loki stood opposite Tony, who now had Chambers rendered immobile by the gun at his temple and the arm around his neck.

"Well, kids? You're bankroling this op. What happens next? And remember, your colleague's life rests in your hands, so choose quick and choose right." Tony sneered, clicking off the safety. Everyone froze, even Hill, as they waited for Loki to respond.

Out the corner of his eye, someone moved. He knew exactly where they were and it didn't take long to figure out what the girl had planned.

When no one said anything, he sighed.

"Response time that long in real life means they'd have time to kill every single one of you and then some. Shall we try this again?"

Tony narrowed his eyes but let the boy go and relaxed.

The girl chose that moment to strike, aiming for the gun in his hands and managing to startle him. He had her on the ground with the weapon aimed for her eyes in seconds.

"Do you no longer teach the meaning of teamwork or is that something they have to come up with now? Because if that's the case then I shit you not, Hill, this generation is lacking. Clever girl, though. You would have been better off if the rest of your team had come around the back and attacked me then, while I was dealing with you. There's no need to play the sacrifice card before you've exhausted all your options. You want lunch, kid?"

* * *

The lunch had been accepted and a date set. The girl had no idea where they would go or why they chose her in the first place, but she wasn't one to give up free food. She would take what she would get without complaint.

As it were, the Avengers went on to Agent Coulson's office, the likes of who had been reinstated at SHIELD, much to the surprise of everyone but Nick Fury and Maria Hill.

"I need every security tape that ever had us on it ASAP." Tony ordered when he stepped into Coulson's office. The SHIELD agent didn't even look up from his papers before responding with an abrupt.

"Sir."

"Also, make it home in time for movie night."

"Can I assume that's what the tapes are for?"

"Yes." Loki hissed gladly. "SHIELD's Funniest Home Videos. Although, maybe not all funny, because it's SHIELD and well… you remember, don't you?"

"I'll see what I can do."

Tony went completely still, much to the alarm of everyone but Loki and Pepper, because they knew exactly what was happening and Sigyn, because she recognized a Seer in a Trance when she saw one.

"Don't touch him!" Pepper ordered. The others held their breaths as they waited to see what would happen.

He snapped out of it a few minutes later with a series of curses that would have made his father blush, some of which hadn't been heard by mortal ears for centuries.

"Take everyone back to the Tower. I need to talk to Fury and I'll contact you from there."

"You heard him, let's go, people. We should probably start getting set-up for movie night anyway." Clint announced.

* * *

"What did you see, Rekke?" Loki demanded when Tony called him half an hour later.

"Snakes, Loki. The snakes never died. All we did, everything was for nothing! _They all _died in vain because those goddamn reptiles slithered back to safety, waited in our house, Loki! And we let them in! We let them in like there was nothing wrong and now there's nothing we can do!" Tony was snarling by the end of his explanation and if he were anyone else, Loki would say that Tony were close to crying.

Loki shook his head and steadied his voice.

"Come home and you can show me."


	13. Agents of SHIELD: Old School

The Avengers arranged themselves on the couch and Loki popped in the first disc.

* * *

**The scene reveals a room that reminded them of Tony's own lab, the one they'd seen, at least. A dull grey machine stood upright against a wall with wires attached to it from every angle. Papers were scattered across one section of a counter attached to the adjacent wall. A man stood before the camera in a white coat that ran down to his knees, like a scientist's. A few seconds and Natasha realized that he was one. **

"_Dad? Mom wants you to-. What the hell are you doing?!" _

"_What does it look like?" The man on the screen scowled at his son. _

"_It- is that a human in there?!" _

"_That's my experiment, and you're ruining it. Get out." _

"_You're experimenting on a four year old girl?!"_

"_It's not your concern. Let me get back to my work, Tony. I'm nearly finished. I'll explain later." _

"_But what are you doing?!" _

"_I'll let you see when I'm done, now leave before I make you." _

"_Dad-!"  
_"_Anthony!" The man snarled. The machine started shaking._

"_What the…" The boy stared in shock as the syringes emptied into the machine, waiting for it to be over… The man went over to a screen that monitored the girl's vitals and Tony saw his chance. _

"_What the- get away from there!" But it was too late. The boy had shut down the machine and was now attempting to free the girl of the contraption that ensnared her. _

"_Do you know what you just did?! Now I have to start all over!" The man snarled as he tried to salvage his experiment gone wrong. _

"_No!" The boy snapped. "You can't just… its one thing to create weapons but dad, she's a four year old girl!" _

"_It's an experiment, Tony, it could benefit millions if it were successful!" _

"_It's wrong! You…you can't just do this to people!" _

"_Well since you ruined my experiment then you take care of it. It's yours anyway." The man groused. The boy narrowed his eyes and adjusted the girl to stop her whimpering. _

"_What are you talking about, old man?"_

"_I mean what I said. She's you, Tony. I've used your DNA to successfully clone a new life. If I'd been able to continue, I could have isolated certain genes to replace the malignant ones in others. I could have healed people! But since you stepped in…" He snorted. "Have fun." _

_The man stalked out of the lab and left the boy holding the four year old in his arms. _

_The girl's eyes snapped open and she wriggled out of his grip. He yelped and would have dropped her if he hadn't grabbed her arm at the last minute. The girl yanked her arm away and narrowed her eyes at him. _

"_Who are you?" She hissed. _

"_My name is Tony. Do you remember anything?"_

* * *

The group went silent and Loki paused the disc before it could skip to the next scene.

"That was you?" Jack wondered.

"Yep." Olivia replied. "In all my three year old glory. Tony got a year with me until I was kidnapped. If this is on the disc then parts of that are bound to be."

That was when Tony stormed into the room and plopped himself onto the couch beside Pepper and buried his face in her shoulder. After a few seconds, he straightened himself out and motioned for Loki to continue. Loki hit play.

* * *

_The scene skipped to a not-much-older Olivia who fidgeted as she was led around SHIELD's HQ by none other than Nick Fury himself. The Director of SHIELD didn't look much different that he did now, they realized. _

"_Mr. Furry, you said you could help me find Tony." _

"_Tony's busy right now, on one of his trips. He wants you to wait with me until he comes back. You'll see him later today, alright?" _

"_Alright." The little girl mumbled. _

_They were given a camera-eye view as Fury traveled throughout the headquarters, the little girl a shadow at his side. He would sometimes stop in the middle of what he was doing to explain and her face would light up in understanding until she knew the basics of what SHIELD was and why it existed. _

_The hours spent at SHIELD came to an abrupt halt when an 18-year-old Tony Stark came barreling into Fury's office with a muttered "thank you" as he buried his face in her hair. _

"_What did I tell you to do today?" _

"_Wait until you got home." The little girl mumbled, embarrassed at being caught. "But I wanted to see where you go! And Direcektor Furry was nice! I didn't even get hurt!" _

"_Yes, well you almost gave me a heart attack" Tony muttered under his breath._

"_Can I come back sometime?" _

"_No!" Tony sounded faintly alarmed as he shot the Director a look. _

"_She's not coming back if i have any say in it." The boy growled. Fury nodded. _

"_Thank you for looking after her, though." He tuned back to the girl and led her out of view of the camera in Fury's office. "I'll have to see if Jarvis wouldn't mind babysitting you from now on." _

_The disc skipped to a scene in what appeared to be a large gym, where an agent was teaching a class. The security camera zoomed in on something that appeared to be moving much higher than anything should be. _

"_Ready?" A younger Loki was up in the rafters, perched on top of an air duct. Clinging to him was Tony, who looked to be around the same age. _

"_How the fuck are we so high?" _

"_That's the fun of it, Tony. Don't worry, though. When you learn to fly, it'll be the best thing ever." _

"_If you say so…" _

"_Are you ready?" _

"_Yeah, sure. Let's get this over with."_

_The two boys sprang from the reinforced air duct and landed right behind the instructor, causing the newer agents to freak out and run for the door. _

"_Get back here you cowards! Two boys jumping from high places are the least of your problems!" The instructor snarled. He gave up when the gym cleared and turned on the boys, who had promptly collapsed in fits of laughter. _

"_You two think it's funny, do you?" The man groused. "On your feet, lads. We've got some rogue agents to track down." The two hopped to their feet with a "Yessir!" and followed the instructor out of the gym. _

The disc ended there and Loki popped in another one.

"I remember that guy. Charcoal or something?" Tony chuckled.

"Chalders." Loki scoffed. "That was my first tracking assignment, actually." He admitted. "I hadn't been at SHIELD long because I was usually stuck at the mansion. What with Tony gone Jarvis needed someone to look after that wasn't Howard or Maria, may the Norns rest their souls."

"He doesn't deserve the rest." Tony growled.

"Would you deny Maria though?" Loki countered. Tony faltered, and dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"He… he knew about Obadiah."

"I'm not surprised.

"He planned to confront the man, Tony, and if anything, that bastard was sneakier then, more lethal. I'm glad he never got the chance.

"You mean to tell me that you're glad they died?"

"I would rather be taken out by a known enemy than by someone I'm supposed to trust."

"I'm with you there," Clint offered.

"That kind of betrayal is always the hardest to overcome, because it means you put your faith in something you shouldn't have." Natasha admitted.

The disc played and they went silent.

_An empty room was the first thing that came up, and upon further investigation, they all realized that the room was not, in fact, empty. _

"_Tony, Fury is here." Loki's voice trailed from the door, where the camera couldn't see. _

"_You told him?!" Tony popped up from a small space between the bed and the wall, where a nightstand lay._

"_Go away, you soft-hearted traitor!" _The boy was still in his teens, Clint noticed.

"_If anything, you're the one who's softhearted." Loki sneered. _

"Turn it off." Tony growled. Loki fast-forwarded, leaving the others to wonder.

"What happened." Jack spoke aloud what they all wanted to know.

"He was hurt by someone he once called a friend." Loki explained.

"I didn't know how to fight that so it kept happening." Tony added. "But that's not something you ever need to experience, so we're skipping it. All you need to know is that if someone tries to hurt you, you hit back and you hit back hard."

"Yes, Tony." The two kids chorused.

_The camera zoomed in on an agent walking along the corridor, eyes focused ahead as she headed to her room. A door opened and she was knocked out before she could open her mouth. The camera didn't catch the assailant._

"You think we should let them watch this?"

"They've seen worse." Tony replied. "You can skip if you want, but the only reason I skipped just now was because that's a story for another day. This one is simpler to explain."

_The scene skipped to what appeared to be an interrogation woman was now tied to a metal chair. Her clothes had been taken, leaving nothing but undergarments. Scratches lined her arms and probably her legs. Water covered her from hairline to chin and she just stared at the desk, watching the water drip around her. _

_The door opened, but she didn't flinch. _

"_What do you want?" She rasped, finally looking up._

_The camera showed the face of Assistant Director Maria Hill. _

"_My name is Loki, and I'm going to get you out of here. We don't have much time, Agent Hill, so we have to move fast. Are you up for it?" _

"_Just get me out of here." She coughed, water spewing from her mouth. _

_Loki set to work cutting her bonds away with a pocketknife and gave her his jacket, which fell to her knees like it did on him. By the way she moved, Tony could only imagine how much pain she was in. Her bones probably creaked from the stress of doing things she hadn't been able to while captured, like walking or running. _

_Loki led her down the hall, moving slowly at first but gaining speed as they went on. _

_After a few minutes, he stopped. _

"_Tony can keep you safe from here. I've something to take care of." From seemingly out of nowhere, a blue cat appeared. Loki glanced at the cat._

"_Take her to Fury." He ordered. The cat nodded and nudged Agent Hill's ankles before springing forward. She dashed after the cat, not wanting to lose sight of it. _

_The cameras showed them running for at least half an hour as they attempted to escape the maze of hallways. Soon, Maria collapsed and crawled to the hallway, curling in on herself so that her head rested on her knees. _

_The cat stopped and wheeled back to her, mewing and prodding at her legs. When she didn't move, the cat jumped into her lap and allowed her to bury her face in its fur. _

_The scene skipped to a different place, where Loki forced two men against a wall. One was large and well-built, obviously some sort of guard, while another was skinnier, but still well-muscled. _

"_You imbeciles have obviously never been in contact with a lady, so allow me to educate you, you mortal trash! They do not like it when the likes of you attempt to stake a claim. It does not in any way make them like you. It makes you a repulsive asshole, gentlemen. Do you know what they do to men like you in prison?" The skinnier boy shook his head. _

"_We don't need some junior agent trying to give us a life lesson. We're not afraid if you." The bigger one sneered. Loki rolled his eyes. _

"_No wonder they hate us." He scoffed lowly before knocking them both out with two blows. _

_The camera switched back to Agent Hill, who was still curled up on the floor, Loki's trenchcoat engulfing her. Her feline companion pricked its ears, sniffed the air, and let out a loud yowl. Maria jumped to her feet, nearly throwing Tony off her lap in the process. _

"_I'm not letting you try anything." She spat out to the unseen figure. "You can't fool me again!" _

"_I would expect nothing less." Director Fury growled. "Stand down, Agent Hill."  
Maria wrapped the coat around her and straightened up, still tense. _

"_Was this some kind of test?" She asked shakily. _

"_We make it a habit to warn our agents about interrogation tactics in advance. There's also a set time that those lessons take place. In other words, I had no hand in this, although i probably should have. Let's get you cleaned up, Agent Hill, and if you're alright with it then i'd like to know what happened." _

_Fury turned on his heel, obviously expecting her to follow. _

"_Can you find Loki?" She blurted out, not moving. "I have to give him back his coat." _

"_That's mine, Agent Hill, and you may keep it for the time being."_

"_Where'd the cat go?" She demanded, voice stronger this time. _

"_Excuse me?" Director Fury turned back to face the young woman, a surprised look in his eyes. _

"_There was a blue cat with Loki… I think he helped get me free." _

"_If I find him then I'll give him a treat." _

"_It's not funny!" She snapped. "I need to know that he's okay!" _

"_The cat is fine, Agent Hill." A different voice, Loki's voice, informed her from behind. Loki was followed by another boy with tanned skin and blue eyes… _

"_It was you!" She blurted out. Tony nodded. _

"_I'm a shape-shifter, Agent Hill, as is my brother," He gestured to Loki. "But that shouldn't concern you now. Why don't we get you cleaned up, like the Director suggested?" _

The screen cut out and Loki put the disc back with the other two.

"I sure as hell wouldn't wish that one anyone." Clint murmured.

"Were those men taken care of?" Natasha demanded.

"You didn't see it, but Loki had those boys drooling all over themselves like the sexist pigs they were," Tony grinned sharply. "If you're going to mention it to Hill, call one of us first so we can at least get the chance to explain.


	14. Preparation (of the family)

The next day saw Clint following his nose to track the heavenly scent of food through the vents. Needless to say, he was surprised at the scene before him:

Tony Stark was actually using his high-tech kitchen. He had oven mitts on and everything! His initial surprise subsided when another thing caught his eye. A woman sat where Loki normally did, and the two chatted amicably. Tony offered actual examples of things he was doing, things none of the Avengers certainly got to hear about (unless it was specifically for them) until it came out on the market. And the woman seemed to know exactly what he was talking about!

"You should do this more often. Hawkeye looks like he's having fun."

"Good to know," The woman purred. And he was caught. "Might as well join us for breakfast, Clinton, since you're here and all. Tony does rather well for himself, when he tries."

"How do you know my name?" Clint demanded.

The girl laughed and Tony fought to keep a straight face.

"You'll see," She offered.

Clint got the feeling he was being silenced. Luckily for him, Thor came in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Anthony. Is that your fare I smell? This breakfast will be a most wonderful endeavor. Have you always had this talent?"

"Um… yes?"

"You should share it more often, Son of Stark."

"When did you get here?"

"I returned well into the night and asked your Jarvis to not disturb you, as I figured it was not as important as sleep. Evidently, he agreed." Tony shrugged.

"Okay," One by one, everyone trickled into the kitchen, most were brought in by the scent of breakfast.

"Yes!" Pepper cried, turning toward Sigyn. "I love when he cooks because it's not something that happens very often, so he ends up making all my favorites... and now that I think about it, you do that for Loki, don't you?"

"Indeed." Sigyn grinned as she bent to kiss the woman in Loki's chair. "Yes I do."

"Am I the only one who doesn't recognize that there's a strange girl in the kitchen just eating like it's completely normal?!"

"No, but thank you for pointing out the obvious." Natasha deadpanned.

"Did you really not tell them?" Pepper turned an accusing gaze toward her fiance, who shrugged. "That's not my story to tell. She'll let them know when she's ready."

"Loki is a shapeshifter, Hawk. The myths at least got that part right."

"Wait, so that's Loki?!" Steve exclaimed, obviously confused. "Is that normal?"

"For him," Tony offered as Lady Loki snatched something off his plate.

"I would say put it back, but this is Pepper's plate. Keep it." He scowled. "What have I told you about touching my food?"

"To do so at every convenience?" Loki simpered.

"Try again, sister mine, because that attitude gets you nothing."

"Whatever you say, Tony."

"One of the things I missed the most was when you helped Jarvis cook breakfast." Olivia spoke lowly, but Tony froze and the kitchen went quiet.

"I'm surprised you remember that." He offered.

"You made the best food ever, especially after you kept going away. If he didn't cook then we went out for ice cream! I always got chocolate, and it was the best! Do they still have Mr. Softee's?" Tony set the plates down and stumbled into his seat. Olivia stared at him, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Sorry I scared you." She murmured. "Those were good times, though…"

The engineer straightened himself out and dug into his breakfast.

"They still have Mr. Softee's. Can't get around the corner without seeing one of those damn trucks." The genius scowled. "Maybe I'll take you out again."

"One day… Not soon." Olivia implored. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Sure thing. Only if you eat up, though. You're skin and bones, kid."

"Yes, dad." She scowled. Tony rolled his eyes.

"You calling me that will never be an insult, even if you aren't my kid. Kid." Olivia snickered and a soft smile graced Sigyn's face. It had been a long time since any of them had a reason to laugh.

"Um, yeah, can we have the story for that?" Bruce wondered. "You don't have to, but that first scene with Stark Senior was kind of confusing."

"Olivia is a clone." Tony informed them between bites. "Don't know how he did it, don't care, really. All I know is that he combined my original DNA with a cat's, hence the reason I turn into said cat. That and magic, but magic only enhances the cat thing. What you saw Olivia and I do in the gym, with the fur and the whiskers and all that? That was a form of shapeshifting. The cat in my blood influenced the animal I became at first and eventually I took a shine to it. Apparently it was passed down. She's also got some variation of the serum in her veins. Howard basically did drunk science and combined blood samples from me and Steve and created a kid. Fucking weird, but I tend to not care about that part. Quite frankly, I'm glad she's alive."

"Because she and Sigyn were kidnapped?" Natasha muttered softly.

"Sigyn would have been kept alive regardless, but they never took anyone below the age of fifteen, because they could be passed off and the ring would get off scot-free. Also, they didn't want a servant they;d have to teach and little kids are known for being unpredictable. Had Sigyn not been as demanding and badass as she was, Olivia would probably have been one of those bodies in that Norns-forsaken pit." He snapped bitterly.

"But I'm not. I didn't age like everyone else, but I learned well enough."

"I'm sure you did, little princess." Loki murmured soothingly.

Breakfast was finished in relative peace and Olivia proposed that they all go outside.

"C'mon, Tony, there's so much to see!" She and Jack were pretty excited at the idea of sightseeing, so the occupants of Stark Tower got dressed and headed out.

"We don't have to do this now." Pepper offered. Tony had told her exactly how he lost Olivia and she knew that he still had nightmares about it. He always would, she suspected, and he'd gotten her back very recently. There was no reason to rush things, especially when Loki clung to his wife like she would disappear at any moment and made sure she and Jack were forever in his sights, bar their need for natural privacy.

"She wants to go outside and I don't see why not. Besides, there are more people this time, and she's not going out of anyone's sight, no matter how old she looks. It won't be like last time. I can do this, Pep. Also, you're coming, so that's one of many changes that'll keep me grounded. You have not lived until you've had Mr. Softee's ice cream. It is the best soft-serve ice cream on in the Realms, Pep."

"All nine of them?"

"Damn straight."

"We'll see about that." Pepper chuckled.


	15. Adventures and Lullabies

**Adventures in Ice Cream and Lullabies (Or why you shouldn't mess with Tony Stark even without the suit.)**

The group decides on the park and things go from there. They walk from where Tony parked the car after one of his more fun (not that anyone but Loki and the kids seemed to agree) car experiences, and allowed the kids to run around to their hearts' content. He'd told them both to keep an eye out for their parents, Pepper, or one of the Avengers, and warned Sigyn and Pepper to do the same. It didn't matter that they were women. They could take care of themselves, but if they were grabbed then their best bet would be to put as much force as they could into knocking their opponent out before getting the hell out of Dodge, because they weren't trained as well as the others. At any rate, Olivia got her ice cream and was determined to keep licking at it until every drop was gone, even with the breakfast she had before. Tony had to take the rest before she got a headache or worse, and she lamented the loss of her treat until he assured the girl that he wouldn't eat it himself. The sharp, pleased grin he got in return made him feel warmer than usual where the Arc Reactor sat.

The group ambled along the sidewalk, with Liv and Jack weaving between conversations seamlessly, when someone screamed.

"Cap, take Clint and Loki and see if you can find the source. The rest of us should be fine waiting."

He'd chosen those two specifically for their physique. No one expected Tony Stark and a bunch of women to be able to hold their own, and if anyone did try anything, the rest of them were fully capable of taking down anyone who so much as looked at them wrong, whatever way that could be.

Predictably enough it turned out to be someone trying to rob the place they hid in and Natasha was more than glad to take down the culprit intent on ruining their day. She didn't count on the henchman and barely managed to escape what could have easily turned into a death blow. Tony rolled his eyes and ambled over. The three men were unconscious and tied up in a matter of minutes and the boys came racing back.

"It turned out to be a distraction and they tried to knock us out with some sort of gas." Loki reported. "I take it this was the attack party?"

"All's quiet on the Western Front but they sure as hell did try."

"Swear jar!" Jack and Liv chorused. Tony rolled his eyes and pulled a five dollar bill out of his wallet.

"That should cover me for the rest of the day, now, how about we go back home before anything else happens, yes?"

"If you insist." Olivia scowled. Jack poked her arm and she glared at him.

"Cheer up, Liv. There's still stuff we haven't done at home and even if there was Uncle Tony's not going to just let us be bored."

"I'm not your uncle." Tony chuckled, casting the girl beside him a knowing look. Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Tony." She scoffed playfully.

* * *

"Tony?" Olivia's face showed up on one of the screens in his workshop later that night, and he grinned. It meant that she figured out the cooler settings on the tablet he'd given her.

"Yeah, kid?"

"Can you sing for me?"

He barely hesitated before he nodded. It felt like forever since he used his voice for anything other than talking (more like yelling as of late), and he kind of missed the idea of singing… maybe he's challenge Loki to Guitar Hero or something. That would be fun.

Eventually, the elevator let him off on the floor two above his and he loped on one, two, three, four doors down and sure enough, Olivia sat on her bed staring at one of the many books that loaded the shelf.

"Nightmare?" He asked softly. She ducked her head and her ears did their best to go flat against her skull, a remnant of how she embraced her cat side.

"Yes." She mumbled as she burrowed under the covers.

"It's okay, kid. Everyone has nightmares."

"Do you?"

"Yes." He admitted.  
"Sigyn does and she said Loki does… Jack whimpered sometimes, when he thought no one could hear him because it was dark out. When we got older we'd sneak out through the tunnel and feel the wind, but we never went much further than just outside, because the others said it was dangerous. The wind felt kind of good, and one time, the Guards let us go out during the day time and the sun was out. IT was awesome, Tony, and really bright, but we got used to it… I don't think some of the Guards liked what they were told to do. I know the ones that did got blown up because they were dumb and stayed to fight, but the ones who didn't escaped with us… I hope they got back to whoever they had, Tony, because they were trapped too."

"I'm sure they were." Tony murmured, because what could he possibly say to that?! "Do you still want me to sing?"

"Yes!" Olivia purred. "You're really good at it! I think tomorrow we should have a contest to see what everyone's good at. You think we could do that?"

"We'll see, Princess." He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Jarvis, pull up the Karaoke version of that Sunrise song from Fiddler on the Roof."

_"Is this the little girl I carried?" _He began._ "Is this the little boy at play…."_

_I don't remember growing older... when did they?"_

_"When did she get to be a beauty…._

_When did he grow so tall?_

_"Was it just yesterday that they were small...?"_

_"Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days,_

_seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers, blossoming even as they gaze._

_Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the years._

_One season following another, laden with happiness and tears…._

_one season following another, laden with happiness, and tears."_

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and the blackness claimed him soon enough. He thought back to when he was younger, much younger, and had to do this for the four year old version of the girl in his arms… he definitely didn't mind doing it again.


	16. Hashing things out

He awoke to giggling and snickers and the flash of a camera. Or was that lightning?

"Go 'way. Thor!" Liv growled under her breath. "No more tantrums."

Apparently his daughter thought the same thing.

The giggling increased accompanied by a soft rumble. So it was Thor…

He popped an eye open and lifted his head.

The doorway was crowded, with Pepper and Sigyn in the front row, snapping pictures even as their subjects woke up. Olivia yawned and half-tripped out of the bed. Tony smothered the urge to laugh, with genuine concern.

"You alright, Kitten?" He muttered sleepily.

"I stubbed my toe and now my foot is killing me!" She growled back.

"Your entire foot?" Jack snickered from somewhere behind the two women.

"Do not make me get up." She growled. A yelp and the scurrying of feet told them that the boy was gone.

"I see you take after the majority of the women in our family." Loki chuckled.

"All four of them, I'm sure." He snorted.

"Who?" Liv asked.

"Well, I'm sure Queen Frigga counts, throw my mother in there, and of course Pepper and Sigyn… I guess Natasha counts, so make that five, Lokes. Damn, how do you survive in a house full of boys?"

"Question of the year, sweetie." Pepper chortled.

"Yeah, sure. Yuk it up, now what time is it?"

"It is 8:30 a.m., Sir." JARVIS offered.

"Is the world on fire?"

"No, Stark, we just figured we could spend the day together, like a team bonding thing."

Of course Steve would be up, goody-two-shoes that he was.

"We did that yesterday, didn't we?"

"We're not finished yet, Dad. There's still ice cream." Olivia pouted. "And TV. You said you would sing."

"And I did." Tony yawned. "Yesterday, when you asked me to, because of nightmares."

"Well now you get to do it again today, because of Guitar Hero."

"You're in on this too?" He scowled up at Loki and yanked the covers back over his head.

"Dad!"

"Not your father." Tony muttered on reflex.

"Well it damn sure wasn't Howard and you're next in line, so deal."

Tony's head poked out of the covers and he glared at the twenty-two year old whose bed he'd stolen for the night.

"I've told you about that." He warned.

"You'll have to get up if you want to stop me." The girl smirked.

"Olivia, do not test me right now!" He growled. "It is too fucking early for this shit, go back to sleep!"

"I would, really, but I'm already up and you took my bed."

"You little brat." He grumbled as he rolled off of the mattress.

"Guess who I get it from." Liv deadpanned.

"Five bucks says Sigyn." Tony yawned.

"Um, no." Said woman snorted. "She got that from you. I just raised her."

"Exactly." Tony groused as he followed the others to the common floor. It took two elevator trips, but everyone made it to the kitchen.

"I need coffee before I do jack-shit."

"Was that an insult?" Loki's son wondered. Tony smacked a hand to his head.

"No, kid. It's a curse word. Nothing to do with anyone named Jack but if you say it, your mother will skin me alive. So don't."

"Oh. So like how you told Liv not to say stuff you say?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Breakfast later on was a sober affair, and Liv asked to be excused from the table after a few bites of cereal and some awkward silence. She raced to the living room and turned on the TV, allowing the noise to drown out whatever she could possibly hear in the kitchen. She knew they would talk about her.

Granted, they didn't, because Tony finished up relatively quick and joined her in the common room, with Steve abandoning hus plate to do the same. It was clear that Olivia didn't like him, and he wanted to know why.

"What makes you think you're not safe?" Tony asked the question on Steve's mind.

"You weren't safe _with_ SHIELD, but you're less safe without them. There's no such thing as _safe_." The girl sneered. "You start thinking you're safe and they'll take you to the tunnel. The others called it The Last Stop because there was a light at the end. I know what it looks like, and it's not Heaven." She muttered darkly.

"There's no such thing as Heaven on Earth, kid." Tony informed her. "Don't let anyone tell you different."

The girl nodded and her voice turned accusing.

"Why is Captain America in your house, Tony?"

"Because he lives here."

"Does Howard know?"

"Howard's dead, remember?"

"Good." She snorted. "Bet he's turning in his grave." She snickered.

"It's not polite to speak ill of the dead, Olivia. I taught you better than that."

"Howard's terrible. He doesn't deserve polite." She scowled.

"Well so was I. Still am, actually. Does that mean you get to be rude to me?" Tony asked.

Olivia glared at Tony before shifting to stare at her feet, fidgeting under his calm, patient gaze.

"You're not terrible, you're my dad." She grumbled.

"And? I was still terrible. Does that mean I don't deserve your respect?"

The girl didn't respond immediately, continuing to glare at her feet. She picked her head up after a while, eyes narrowed.

"You still love him."

"He was my father. Can't afford not to."

"What about the English pair? They took better care of us than anyone."

"Yes, they did. Jarvis and Peggy were awesome." Tony assured her. "Just like Lethal is awesome for taking care of you. But she's not your mother. They weren't my parents."

"Does that mean you don't love them?"

"Of course I do. You can love more than one person."

"But why would you even think about Howard if you have Peggy and Jarvis too? There's no point."

"He's my father. I wouldn't be here without him, and some part of me, no matter how small, has to respect that, even if I don't like him."

"He has to be the worst human being in existence!" She hissed sulkily.

"I can think of worse." Tony challenged.

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"That's not the point."

"What's so great about him anyway? What is there worth liking about him?"

"He's a genius, for one thing. What makes you say that?"

"You seem so eager to sing his praises, I want to know why."

"Furthest from, kid. Again, not the point. I'm not saying you have to like him. You have every right to hate the man as much as I do. Respect is different. He did something right, or we wouldn't be where we are today."

The girl looked pensive for a few heartbeats, and her face darkened.

"_You are not your father's child._ At least that's what Sigyn told me."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to be."

"You are not Howard Stark."

"No, I made my own person." Tony informed the girl.

"Then what is there to hold on to? He's not here, and if he were, he'd hate our guts. I'll always be his failed experiment and you'll always be second-best. You accepted that and I knew my role from the beginning. Did you lie?"

"About accepting it? Not entirely."

"You still want his approval."

"You still want mine."

That gave the girl pause.

"You at least gave me a chance." She muttered. "What did he ever do besides help give you life and make sure you spent it in misery?"

"He showed me what not to do when I get older, that's for sure, but I wouldn't be anywhere near who I am if it weren't for him. I can live with second-best, and I don't _like_ Howard Stark, father or not. But he did something with his life and for that, I respect him."

Olivia mulled that over before nodding reluctantly.

"I see your point." She muttered.

"In light of that, I have a question for you."

"Shoot." She offered. He snorted briefly before he went on.

"In your eyes, what's the difference between me and Howard?"

"You tried harder." She said after a few heartbeats. He raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't enough." He scoffed bitterly.

"It is for me." She insisted.

"Another thing, why don't you like Cap?"

"I don't get why you do. Howard put more effort into finding a ghost story than raising any of the three kids he ended up having. One of whom he didn't even mean to create. Who does that, Tony? What's so great about Captain America that he would just leave us like that? Did he even care at all?!" She snapped.

"He didn't know how to raise kids, barely knew people. I'm more than willing to admit that was one of his flaws. But he was right about Captain America."

"What?!" Steve objected. "No, he was not." The soldier hissed through gritted teeth, surprised by the turn this had taken. "How could you-? _Why_ would you say that?!"

"Because it's true." Tony informed his friend. "Don't get me wrong, you're far from perfect, and Howard definitely shouldn't have put you on a pedestal like he did, but you were worth finding, even if he did go a little crazy over it. I'm glad my father found you, Cap. I just don't like him."

* * *

**Okay, so I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever, but I've been going back over this story and I realized that this doesn't make a lot of sense, nor does it have a proper plot. Originally, I was going to have Tony get his sister back and life go on as a result, but now I'm wondering if anyone who's been reading this has an idea I could use. So this is going to be rewritten, but it can go one of two ways: **

**1\. I make this a slice-of-life fic with things happening and the characters seeing the results of these or **

**2\. This has a cohesive plot outside of them getting their lives together. **

**I'm really interested in seeing what people think, and I haven't given up on this story as a whole, but it does need some fine tuning. In the mean time, I have a whole folder full one-shots based in this universe, so how about I post some of those as extra chapters until I get things together. Sound good? I hope so. Please don't give up on me yet, guys. I'm glad you're still reading this story. **

**Cinderfire**


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